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 | Feb 28, 2017

Workplace wellbeing

Organizations are starting to realize that there are benefits to addressing employee wellbeing.

Sustainability | Feb 20, 2017

‘Forest cities’ could help solve China’s air pollution problem

The architect behind China’s first vertical forest skyscraper has bigger plans for entire cities filled with vertical forests.

Green | Feb 6, 2017

A to Z: Seoul’s elevated park features 24,000 alphabetized plants

The plants will represent 250 species found in South Korea.

Green | Feb 3, 2017

Nanjing Green Towers will be Asia’s first vertical forest

The project will be covered in 1,100 trees and 2,500 cascading plants and shrubs.

Sustainability | Jan 27, 2017

An office building proposed for Norway would generate more power than it uses

Over it’s 60-year lifespan, the power generated form the project would cover the energy cost of construction, production, and material transportation.

Sustainability | Jan 24, 2017

From an industrial park to an eco-neighborhood in Brussels, Belgium

At the heart of Vincent Callebaut Architectures’ eco-neighborhood will be three 100-meter-tall Vertical Forests.

Sustainability | Jan 19, 2017

How NYC is slashing 80% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050

To help one of the most complex cities in the world develop an actionable strategy to meet visionary GHG reduction goals, we focused on strategies for deep carbon reductions for the city’s entire building stock, which constitutes 73% of citywide emissions, writes HDR's Jennifer Bienemann.

Game Changers | Jan 18, 2017

Turning friction into power

Research on piezoelectricity moves closer to practical applications for infrastructure and buildings.

Game Changers | Jan 13, 2017

Building from the neighborhood up

EcoDistricts is helping cities visualize a bigger picture that connects their communities.

Sustainability | Dec 14, 2016

A floating, mobile gym powered by human energy envisioned for the Seine River

Energy created by those exercising within would power the gym down the Seine.

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