Advantages of Vertical Farming
Year-round crop production; 1 indoor acre is equivalent to 4-6 outdoor acres or
more, depending upon the crop (e.g., strawberries: 1 indoor acre = 30 outdoor
acres)
No weather-related crop failures due to droughts, floods, pests
All VF food is grown organically: no herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers
VF virtually eliminates agricultural runoff by recycling black water
VF returns farmland to nature, restoring ecosystem functions and services
VF greatly reduces the incidence of many infectious diseases that are acquired
at the agricultural interface
VF converts black and gray water into potable water by collecting the water of
evapotranspiration
VF adds energy back to the grid via methane generation from composting
non-edible
parts of plants and animals
VF dramatically reduces fossil fuel use (no tractors, plows, shipping.)
VF converts abandoned urban properties into food production centers
VF creates sustainable environments for urban centers
VF creates new employment opportunities
We cannot go to the moon, Mars, or beyond without first learning to farm indoors
on
earth
VF may prove to be useful for integrating into refugee camps
VF offers the promise of measurable economic improvement for tropical and
subtropical
LDCs. If this should prove to be the case, then VF may be a catalyst in helping
to reduce or even reverse the population growth of LDCs as they adopt urban
agriculture as a strategy for sustainable food production.
VF could reduce the incidence of armed conflict over natural resources, such as
water
and land for agriculture
Ako Z°om on 12 Jul 08What Experts Are Saying "KPF has been using GenerativeComponents for some time and it forms a key component in the armory of the KPF Computational Geometry Group. Several of our most advanced projects employ GenerativeComponents as a tool for exploring thousands of options as well as the complex geometry to be used in final construction, all ultimately benefiting our clients. The nature of GenerativeComponents as a MicroStation extension means that, as a matter of course, our advanced designs can be interchanged with an extraordinary variety of software." - Lars Hesselgren, Kohn Pederson Fox "At Arup, we believe firmly in the principle of integrated design and integrated approaches to design - it's the only way to design complex buildings well. That's why we use GenerativeComponents. And we are not alone. We are starting to see young people coming through the system doing things we could only have dreamed about a few years ago." - J Parrish, Arup Sport "Simplicity seeds complexity. But in the search for form we need to add reference to the representation to articulate the result. GenerativeComponents enables us to find, explore, and regulate forms more rapidly, and to transmit these forms to fabrication more economically." - Hugh Whitehead, Foster + Partners "Grimshaw's offices all share a common DNA. We are a design-driven office, and all projects are informed by the specific location, program, and environmental forces. We employ GenerativeComponents to take in and embed the multitude of inputs and structure them using this common DNA, thus enabling us to rapidly explore a variety of environmentally appropriate solutions for each design project." - Shane Burger, Grimshaw Architects "Using GenerativeComponents, we can accelerate our iteration through design options and, in parallel, assess all concepts and dismiss those that would be uneconomic to construct. As a result, we get to spend more time fine-tuning the best solution.
