The DIY Windowfarm collaborative platform in development. We love this image and cannot wait for the platform to be up and running!

R&D-I-Y is a web platform for mass collaboration. Together, our community is working to integrate personal scale innovation for environmental stewardship + quality of life into the existing infrastructure of cities. We are applying open source software development techniques to physical systems development. We are developing hydroponic systems, LEDs, solar, aquaponics, sensor systems, nutrient sources and alternative energy … all using open source techniques and as many readily-available materials as possible.

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Seeing is believing: High density vertical farming is here to stay.

“You should have seen it. It was a nightmare,” said Fred Haberman, a local marketing executive who is part of the Urban Organics team.

But Haberman and his partners saw potential in the 105-year-old building, and they’re now transforming it into an indoor, urban farm. Most of the building has been cleaned up, and by mid-2013 there will be tanks full of tilapia and racks lined with fresh lettuce and herbs.

Urban Organics will use an agricultural technique known as aquaponics, a symbiotic marriage of aquaculture (raising fish in tanks) and hydroponics (growing plants in water). The nutrient-rich wastewater from the fish will be pumped to the produce growing on the racks above, and the plants then act as a filter for the water before it returns to the fish tanks.

The long-term goal is to generate 1 million pounds of food per year that will be sold through distributors to local restaurants and grocers. Eventually, some of the food will be set aside for food shelves and homeless shelters in the community.

Haberman projects that Urban Organics will make money within two years, establishing itself as a viable business in what, he said, has historically been “an industry of poets and pioneers.”

“From a revenue perspective the numbers look really good,” he said, noting that Urban Organics already has commitments from prospective customers who he declined to name. “For us, it’s not as much of a demand issue as it is an issue of generating consistent, high-quality supply. People are willing to take the product off our hands.”

The company anticipates a strong market from restaurants that want to offer locally grown produce but struggle to find a consistent supply during Minnesota winters. And the grocery sales will target the “MPR moms” who typically shop at Whole Foods and local co-ops, Haberman said.

Getting started

The idea for Urban Organics started almost two-and-a-half years ago when Dave Haider and his wife, Kristen Haider, saw a story on the nightly news about Sweet Water and Growing Power Inc., a pair of well-known aquaponics facilities in Milwaukee. Haider, who was looking for a more rewarding career after 16 years in construction, was immediately drawn to the idea of urban farming. “We went out there to visit the next week and were more than inspired,” he said. “It was insane.”

Haider called his friend and neighbor, Chris Ames, to tell him about his big idea. Ames, whose background is in accounting and commercial real estate, quickly got on board.

The final piece of the team was Haberman, head of the fast-growing Haberman marketing agency in Minneapolis and founder of the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships. Haider knew him from working on the pond hockey venture. And it just so happened that Haberman’s parents run a charitable foundation in Milwaukee that had given money to Growing Power.

Urban Organics then embarked upon an 18-month search for a site that would meet its unique requirements. Ultimately, the five-story, 55,000-square-foot Hamm’s building emerged as a strong fit because its 18-foot ceilings provided enough room for the growing racks, its two-foot-thick floors would support the weight of the fish tanks and its masonry walls would help retain heat.

“It’s like a bunker,” Ames said.

All told, Urban Organics is budgeting approximately $1.5 million for startup costs, including the purchase of the building, renovations and equipment. It has received several hundred thousand dollars in grants, but the majority of the money will come from private investors who the partners declined to name.

The city of St. Paul has played a key role in getting the project off the ground by helping to secure state grants and working closely with Urban Organics on the building sale and permitting issues, Ames said.

“The city’s been great to work with,” he said. “They’ve really bent over backward to help us get going.”

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said the city was drawn to Urban Organics because it will create economic development on the Hamm’s site, while also helping to promote healthy, locally produced food.

“We’ve got this great old site that’s been vacant for way too many years, so we’ve been looking for a way to get that back on the tax rolls,” he said. “It has been a bit of a challenge due to the nature of the buildings. … And we’ve done a lot of stuff with locally produced food, trying to get more fresh produce and fish into people’s diets. So it just fits into a lot of different things we’re working on.”

Able to compete

Urban Organics plans to launch its business in two phases. The first phase will include three floors of the building; the second phase will expand to the top two floors and the basement.

Each floor will have five 3,500-gallon fish tanks linked to a four-tier rack of lettuce and other vegetables. Each level will have roughly 300 growing lights, which will emit enough energy that Urban Organics will require little additional heat to maintain a temperature between 70 and 85 degrees, even during winter.

“It’s going to be tropical,” Haider said.

The facility will get its water from the brewery’s old well. By recycling its water through the aquaponics process, Urban Organics projects it will only use 2 percent of the water typically needed for traditional farming.

It will take roughly three weeks to grow lettuce, start to finish, and six to nine months to harvest the fish.

Once fully operational, Urban Organics expects to have 18 to 20 full- and part-time employees. It also wants to develop an educational program to work with schools and other community organizations.

Indoor agriculture can be a successful business, said Garden Fresh Farms founder Dave Roeser, who operates an aquaponics facility in a 20,000-square-foot building in Maplewood. He’s generating about 1,000 lettuce plants and 40 pounds of basil per day.

Garden Fresh Farms has about 40 community-supported agriculture members who pay $22.50 per week for a box of fresh produce. And it’s selling fish, lettuce and herbs to local restaurants and corporate cafeterias.

“We’re growing things indoors, so we have some certain expenses for energy and our building and things like that,” Roeser said. “But we’re close to market, so we have lower transportation costs and you don’t have as much spoilage.”

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JUST BEAUTIFUL: JAPANESE AGRICULTURE DESIGN

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While we are definitely advocates of integrated agriculture that is intentionally visible from the street level and by urban dwellers, this article provides and interesting concept of a city block that produces food “on the inside”.

Whether it’s called ‘agricultural urbanism,’ ‘urban farming,’ or by the seriously awkward word ‘rurbalization,’ it’s all the rage.  And, on his excellent blog Discovering Urbanism, Daniel Nairn proposes a model for a ‘garden city block’ that integrates agriculture into city fabric in a really nice way.  I’m especially happy to see this, because some (definitely not all) of the contexts in which this sort of thing is presented can be troublesome if you believe, as I do, that keeping our developed regions compact, and our rural landscape rural, are important to sustainability and conservation of our heritage.

  

As I wrote in a post last year about urban ‘victory gardens,’ I endorse food production inside cities when it supports density and urbanity, and that is exactly what Daniel’s model does.  Based on the urban fabric of Richmond, Virginia’s historic Fan District (photos below), Daniel’s model retains the streetscape of dense, diverse housing and commercial structures, while reforming the interior of the block and adding a green roof and a greenhouse, all for vegetable gardening, and a corner store where some of the harvest might be marketed. 

Daniel explains:

‘The exterior of the block functions as in any other urban area. The public streets are activated by the fronts of the buildings and streetscape features, and the full range of transportation access to the rest of the city is available. The interior, on the other hand, is devoted to the more constrained social scale of the block community, and the structures serve as a wall protecting this garden area. Enclosure is necessary to provide a degree of privacy, to protect produce from theft and vandalism, and to keep animals from wandering.

‘By the numbers, this block allows a density of 15 [dwelling units per acre while keeping 28% of all land for growing produce.’

Those are good city numbers.  Viewing the block from the street, you have no doubt that you are still in a city:

  

Daniel continues:

‘Gardening requires many resources that can be shared by the whole block. A tool shed is accessed from the side by the glass elevator. A water cistern collects and stores runoff from the buildings above. Chicken coops are lined up against the building. Although chickens need sunlight, some shade could benefit them as well. Maybe they could be on wheels. The composting bins are directly in front of the block’s dumpster, so households can deposit their organic waste while taking out the trash.’

Good stuff.  Visit the post for more illustrations and context.

Now, me, I’m the kind of guy who grew up in a poor family just a generation removed from dirt farming for sufficiency and couldn’t become a big-city boy soon enough.  There’s nothing romantic or therapeutic to me about compost and chickens, both of which conjure disturbing images from my childhood.  But I know a growing phenomenon, in both senses of the word, when I see one.

Urban agriculture is catching on, and we need to do it in a way that does not undermine the considerable benefits of compact cities and regions.  Unfortunately, the contexts in which I usually see this discussed are so-called ‘agricultural urbanism’ that looks way too much like a new attempt to justify expanding suburbs onto rural land; and proposals to demolish buildings in central urban cores to convert property to farming, essentially on the premise that those ’shrinking’ cities will never rebuild (even though almost all of them continue to expand their suburbs).  Those approaches are not wholly without rationale, but I believe both could end up doing more harm than good (see here and here).  Daniel’s suggestion is a refreshing concept that brings some of the benefits of urban farming without as many of the risks.

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NEWS: Rooftop Farming Grows at New Bronx Housing Project

Watch the NY1 video about the new rooftop greenhouse hydroponic farm that opened in the Bronx today. We were lucky enough to attend:

Sky Vegetables is the company behind the newly constructed 8,000 sqf rooftop greenhouse. Built on top of a new affordable housing development, this project could be the first example of commercial hydroponic agriculture integrated into a residential structure. This will be Sky Vegetables’ first rooftop hydroponic greenhouse in NYC as they expand from their home state of Massachusetts where they already have several others up and running. Their team includes Joe Swartz, who has been featured as a BIA leader on this blog because of his 46,000+ hours of hydroponic greenhouse experience, and Laurie Shoeman, who has worked with every BIA company in NYC.

As an established leader in sustainable urban agriculture, Sky Vegetables brings even more innovation, opportunity, and fresh local food to NYC where building-integrated agriculture is taking off.

A new Bronx building will soon have residents going green in more ways than one. Known as “Arbor House”, the nearly $38 million project built on land purchased from the New York City Housing Authority’s Forest Houses property in Morrisania boasts a hydroponic rooftop farm for growing fresh vegetables. The eight-story building located at 770 East 166th Street features 124 units of affordable housing and a variety of green perks like a living green wall in the lobby and “stair music”, in the hopes that people will take the stairs and get some exercise.

But perhaps best of all, residents and the surrounding community will get to enjoy fresh food grown in their very own building.

“We dissolve all the nutrients that plants need for growth - we dissolve them into water and we feed them to the plants and then reclaim all the water nutrients that are not used by plants; so it’s a completely closed system,” said Master Farmer Joe Schwartz.

“This is cutting edge, we’re really leading the way citywide and statewide, and the best is yet to come,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.

Sky Vegetables, the company that built the rooftop garden, is also hoping to expand to other residential buildings.

“Local, fresh, nutritious food is what the people of the cities need. And there is no reason why we can’t turn all of these rooftops into living farms,” said Sky Vegetables CEO Bob Fireman.

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Image of the of outside of the newly opened Sky Vegetables rooftop hydroponic farm in Bronx, NYC.

Want more? Click here to see pictures and read our full post.

Plantagon: The fascinating union between a Swedish innovator and an indigenous North American tribe. This is a trailer to a documentary about the vertical farming company Plantagon. Check out our other posts to learn more about the company.

This rather cheesy promo video might be of interest to those looking for companies practicing hydroponics on a commercial level.

galacticgiraffe:

Photograph by Yuriko Nakao, Reuters

livingcityproject:

With land becoming a premium in some metropolitan areas around the world, will we see the emergence of vertical farming over the next few decades?

This project just got its funding on Kickstarter. Localizing food security one freight at a time. Nice idea but I look forward to seeing how they design the interiors of the freights and how they manage energy. One to watch:

group-partners:

Imagine the ability to grow a one-acre farm in a 320 square foot box right in the middle of London, New York or Los Angeles, what would this do for restaurateurs?

Well, Kickstarter funded entrepreneurs Brad McNamara and Jon Friedman have made that possible. Freight Farms introduces a scalable farming platform that can be operated anywhere by up-cycling shipping containers into a source for high-yield crop production.

The produce grown in one week is equivalent to what grows on one acre in one year. Containers cost $60,000.

Urban agriculture has the potential to change the way we eat, farm, and our relationship with the food on our plate.

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Migrating sustainable agriculture closer to customers addresses a laundry list of looming concerns — trucking, water, energy costs, carbon emissions, and pesticides.

Instead of pesticide-intensive factory farms, we can envision organic foods grown in Brooklyn greenhouses. Instead of concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFOs), think backyard chicken coops. What about using technology like LEDs to provide indoor growth environments or growing food vertically instead of using precious urban real estate?

Why not grow vegetables in greenhouses on roofs in Manhattan or Mumbai?

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Demand for food is rising, particularly in rapidly growing economies like China and India, fossil fuel-based fertilizers are getting more expensive, and water is an increasingly scarce resource. Almost a billion people in developing countries are undernourished, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Why not grow food vertically?

AeroFarm is a startup that looks to do just that. With a modest amount of land, plus water and electricity, AeroFarm claims that they can grow greens at the same cost as traditional farming areas in California. Yields are likely modest but it’s a novel solution for city dwellers if the energy balance is favorable.

New York’s Gotham Greens builds rooftop greenhouses that combine advanced horticultural and engineering techniques to optimize crop production, crop quality, and production efficiency. Their climate controlled facility can grow produce, year-round.

Venture capitalists are paying close attention to the green agriculture market and will certainly look at urban farming if the market potential exists. Recent VC investments in green agriculture include WeatherBill with investment from Google Ventures and Khosla Ventures; as well as startups AgraQuest, Yulex, and Holganix.

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Aquaponics can produce fresh fish and vegetables year-round, with a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics in an integrated, soil-less system. In these systems, fish waste fertilizes plants, while plants naturally filter water for fish.

Aeroponic farming uses mist to grow plants without soil, another-urban friendly farming technique.

And urban agriculture has the potential to provide jobs and strengthen communities while producing affordable food.

Will Allen, a farmer who produced a quarter of a million dollars worth of food on two acres in Milwaukee, won a $500,000 genius award from the MacArthur Foundation in 2008 for his urban efforts. First Lady Michelle Obama is planting an organic garden on the White House lawn and the President is touting urban agriculture as a means to revitalize cities.

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Can tomorrow’s farmer be an urban entrepreneur with a greentech thumb?

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SOA architects continue to design Vertical Farming:

La Ferme Musicale = also known as Ferme Darwin – is a concept for a vertical farm and cultural center in Bordeaux. Darwin Ecosysteme has been working on a larger project to build a sustainable community in Bordeaux, and the vertical farm is one aspect of it. The facility addresses health, food, and ethical and social concerns and provides space for people to gather together to celebrate food and life. Passersby and members of the community can learn more about sustainable food production, and the venue is suited for parties, events and concerts.

La Ferme Musicale is designed to transform the remains of a warehouse into an educational gallery, a stage, community rooms and growing facilities. Above the ground floor, a series of lightweight steel structures house the growing facilities. This greenhouse is set on top of a stone ruin, which contains the utilities and equipment necessary for production. La Ferme Musicale will take advantage of auto-regulated water-efficient devices, solar energy, and organic farming methods to produce local food. The facility will also employ local residents and give back to the community in more ways than one.

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Blue Planet has a patented technology that increases the oxygenation of the root zone for hydroponics.

Introducing a perfectly natural way to grow organic vegetables, herbs and plants in your hours — HydroBloom^TM It’s the first hydroponic growing system available in stores that uses the power of oxygen-rich Micro-Nano bubbles to make your organic vegetables, plants and herbs grow with impressive results! Watch indoor garden grow faster, bigger and healthier — all without the use of added chemicals and pesticides, and in a fraction of the time and hassle of growing an outdoor garden.

 GREEN&CLEAN

• Plants, vegetables and herbs grow up to 25% faster without soil, added chemicals or pesticides
• Decrease your water and electricity usage up to 20% — saving you money
• Nourish root systems directly with oxygen and add strength and vitality to your hydroponic garden
• Grow organic vegetables in your home all year round
• All-in-one unit makes it easy and simple to use

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Read this recent blog post by Dr. Dickson Despommier about the “new kids on the block” that are practicing high density urban farming.

Newest Kids On The Block

With the advent of the first commercial examples of vertical farms now up and running, the vertical farm industry is now officially a reality. Over the last two years, it has emerged into the light of day from its virtual womb, the internet, and has taken its first deep breaths. Vertical farming is now in the earliest stage of its growth and development, a place comparable to all the other industries that preceded it, beginning with the very first ones that appeared on the scene in Manchester, England at the beginning of the industrial revolution.  Like all the others, the vertical farm industry will undoubtedly undergo remarkable evolutionary changes over the next few years, but in a more rapid and streamlined fashion than its immediate predecessor, the high tech greenhouse industry. This is due largely to the advent of sophisticated computer-controlled indoor environments (hydroponic nutrient delivery systems, efficient, spectrum-specific LED grow lights, innovative, energy-saving HVAC systems, etc., and a robust application of automation), and cutting edge manufacturing technologies, witness, over just the last ten years, the rapid advancement of the cell phone, the hybrid car, wind power, and the latest versions of plasma screen TVs. Examples of vertical farms can now be found all over the globe.  Here, then, are the newest kids on the block.

Singapore:

 The island country of Singapore announced last month that a commercial version of a vertical farm was now in operation Sky Greens. It is a four-story, transparent structure fitted with A-frame growing systems that produce leafy green vegetables. It uses sunlight as a source of energy, and captured rainwater to drive a clever pulley system to move the plants on the grow racks, ensuring an even distribution of sunlight for all the plants.

U.S.A. – Bedford Park:

Farmed Here opened in 2013 as a commercial-level VF that is housed in a 90,000 square foot post-industrial building in Bedford Park, IL. It produces three products; arugula, basil, and sweet basil vinaigrette.

Canada – Vancouver:

Local Garden is a newly constructed two-story tall, 6,000 sq. ft. transparent building located on a parking garage rooftop in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is outfitted with an innovative growing platform system Verticrop: that produces micro-green salad ingredients, baby spinach, and baby kales.

Japan:

Plant factories - aka vertical farms - have been up and running for at least two years, and some have been operational for a lot longer than that. There are some fifty of these indoor vegetable farms spread out over most of the country (e.g., Nuvege , Angel Farms ). Half of them employ sunlight as the sole energy source for growing crops, while an equal number use some variety of LED grow lights. Most of those using grow lights resemble large, windowless warehouses. All of them produce a wide variety of high yield leafy greens. One Japanese online web site estimates that the plant factory industry will grow by over 70 billion yen over the next 5 years, mostly from private investment, and whose progress is largely driven by consumer demand for healthy, radiation-free food in the aftermath of the Fukushima meltdown event.

It is anticipated that over the next year or two, the number of viable commercial vertical farm operations the world over will increase at a rate commiserate with city dweller’s demand for safer, reasonably priced, locally grown food. At the same time, severe weather patterns around the world continue to increase in frequency, from extreme droughts to massive floods, and the price of oil remains high. As the result, the availability of food, no matter what the crop, has become more and more problematic, as costs related to production and shipping skyrocket.  Thus, it now appears likely that vertical farms of a wide variety will become a common feature of the global urban landscape over the next decade, as a global industrial-level response to our ever-changing climate. 

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We featured Brandon Martella on this blog some time ago and we are excited to see that his design is experiencing more exposure. The integration of food and farming into one structure is what agri-tecture is all about. We agree that for San Diego’s purposes this high rise might be too domineering  but we disagree with the farmer’s claims that hydroponic tomatoes are not as good as soil-grow tomatoes. The taste of tomatoes depends largely on the stress that they are put under to get that full flavor which is why it requires a hydroponic farmer with experience and skill to get the desired taste.