flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Is ‘Growroom’ a glimpse into the future of urban agriculture?

Sustainability

Is ‘Growroom’ a glimpse into the future of urban agriculture?

Growroom’s spherical shape means it can also double as a covered outdoor public space.


By David Malone, Associate Editor | September 22, 2016

Image courtesy of Mads-Ulrik Husum.

Many new mixed-use developments are beginning to use food as a luring, featured amenity. Farm-to-table restaurants and organic gardens are beginning to replace past amenities such as golf courses, but this has primarily been for more rural, or at least, suburban, developments.

While the farm-to-table restaurants are beginning to pop up in more neighborhoods across dense cities, and rooftop urban farms are growing in popularity, space in urban landscapes is still at a premium. But, as inhabitat.com reports, the Danish group Space10, in association with architects Mads-Ulrik Husum and Sine Lindholm have developed a prototype that could help people in urban areas produce more of their own food while also providing a return to nature for cities.

Their prototype, Growroom, was recently showcased at the Chart Art Fair in Copenhagen as a piece of agricultural architecture. Growroom is a spherical structure made of metal framework that holds planter boxes. By dividing the sphere into overlapping slices, in ensures water and light can reach all of the vegetation.

Additionally, the sphere can double as a public space for individuals to take a seat and escape the sun or the rain (the overlapping slices allow the plants to get rain and sun, but shield the individuals within).

Growroom is not a solution that will allow cities to grow all of their own food, but that was never the goal of the project. “With the Growroom, we want to spark conversations about how we can bring nature back into our cities, grow our own food, and tackle the rapidly increasing demand for significantly more food in the future,” Space10 writes on their website.

For even more information on the Growroom, click here.

Related Stories

Sustainability | Jan 16, 2018

The nation's capital of sustainable design

Major cities, like Washington, D.C., make up less than 2% of the world’s landmass, but they contribute 77% of the world’s CO2 emissions.

Museums | Jan 11, 2018

Suzhou Science & Technology Museum will highlight new cultural district in Shishan Park

The 600,000-sf museum will be about 62 miles northwest of Shanghai.

Urban Planning | Jan 10, 2018

Keys to the city: Urban planning and our climate future

Corporate interests large and small are already focused on what the impact of climate change means to their business.

Sustainability | Dec 7, 2017

Busting the myths: What the “S-word” can mean for construction and development

Sustainability, it’s a trendy term. The problem, however, is that it’s being used in so many different ways that people don’t even know what it means anymore.

Sponsored | Sustainability | Nov 2, 2017

Galileo’s Pavilion is a true showcase of sustainability

Galileo’s Pavilion is a 3,000-square-foot academic building.

Greenbuild Report | Oct 18, 2017

Rebuild, retreat, or resist

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma expose the necessity—and limitations—of resilient design and construction measures.

Sustainability | Oct 16, 2017

A negative emissions power plant is now operational in Iceland

The geothermal power plant in Hellisheidi, Iceland was outfitted with a Climeworks DAC module.

Sustainability | Oct 9, 2017

New Arizona State University building will reach triple net-zero performance

The science and research complex will include an atrium biome filled with plants and water.

Sustainability | Oct 4, 2017

The solutions to climate change are already at our fingertips

To keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius of warming, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that the global buildings sector will need to decrease its total annual greenhouse gas contribution by 77% by 2050.

Green | Oct 2, 2017

Five strategies to improve energy performance in existing buildings

After performing retro-commissioning and energy audits for more than five million square feet of existing building real estate, we have developed a list of common low/no-cost Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) that are identified on the majority of projects.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Green

Global green building alliance releases guide for $35 trillion investment to achieve net zero, meet global energy transition goals

The international alliance of UK-based Building Research Establishment (BRE), the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Alliance HQE-GBC France developed the guide, Financing Transformation: A Guide to Green Building for Green Bonds and Green Loans, to strengthen global cooperation between the finance and real estate sectors.



Products and Materials

Top products from AIA 2024

This month, Building Design+Construction editors are bringing you the top products displayed at the 2024 AIA Conference on Architecture & Design. Nearly 550 building product manufacturers showcased their products—here are 17 that caught our eye.


halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021