Belgian architect Vincent Vallebaut of the Lilypad concept fame has came up with a out-of-this-world stunning sustainable design concept...
Belgian architect Vincent Vallebaut of the Lilypad concept fame has came up with a out-of-this-world stunning sustainable design concept that aims to solve the food, housing and energy shortage that we will be facing in the future. The "urban farm" concept Dragonfly is envisioned to rise on New York City's Roosevelt Island.
The structure is inspired from nature with its design appropriately modeled after dragonfly wings. As an urban farm, it will provide fresh, local food within an urban environment through all 132 floor space while being powered by a combination of solar and wind energy. It can also accommodate 28 different agricultural fields for the production of fruit, vegetables, grains, meat and dairy.
This alien-looking superstructure also has offices, research laboratories, housing and communal areas that are interspersed between orchards, farms and production rooms. Aside from plants, animal farming is arranged throughout its steel and glass wings in order to reuse biowaste and recycle everything in order to keep proper soil nutrient levels.
Taking advantage of 'free' solar energy, the spaces between the wings were specially designed to collect the accumulated warm air in the exo-structure during winter while cooling during hot summer days will be facilitated through natural ventilation and plant perspiration. On the other hand, the exterior vertical gardens filter the rain water and then mixed with the domestic liquid waste where the mixture are treated organically before being recirculated for farm use and distributing nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.
Exterior vertical gardens filter rain water which is then mixed with domestic liquid waste. Together they are treated organically before being recirculated for farm use, preserving and distributing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. This urban farm, perhaps more appropriate for Dubai than New York, is intended to be cultivated by its own inhabitants, thus closing the loop of self-sustenance.
No comments