My final year design project allowed me to explore concepts associated with the circular economy. The unit, Food in the City, further emphasized the application of technological processes as drivers for creative responses to social and environmental challenges. The context for this technological exploration was defined by the spatial and programmatic opportunities afforded by the contemporary processes of production, distribution and consumption of food within the city.
Shying away from a technologically deterministic approach, I proposed a new business model for an urban farm/market, taking advantage of the opportunities of a circular economy. The urban farm would operate at the scale of the city, with centralized and distributed elements. To provide universal access to fresh food, a new economy is envisaged: growth becomes a form of currency. Participants may buy or lease the hydroponic components with which to create their own hydroponic food production systems at home. The hydroponic “growing” canopy, which drapes across the central urban farm/market, acts as the catalyst for a system which accelerates the perceived frequency of vegetable harvest by the decentralized urban farmers, reducing the time investment required to grow one’s own produce - a potential pain point for people interested in urban farming.
The proposed system allows the ‘urban farmer’ to exchange a semi-mature home-grown plant at the central farm/market for fully mature produce and new seeds. While the farmer can enjoy fresh produce in half the time of a typical harvest cycle, the home-grown semi-mature plant he traded in will mature in time for his next trade.
In this way, the participant is able to trade for produce without any monetary exchange and effectively doubles the speed of his harvest. In the time it takes for a vegetable to have fully developed, the participant will be able to gain twice the amount of mature produce at no cost beyond the investment in the component system, spending only half the amount of money required on growing resources, such as water, nutrients, and artificial light.
