Are Vertical Farms The Way Forward for Bengaluru?

Dhwani Desai| TNN | Oct 8, 2017

Pollution and space restraints — something that Bengalureans tackle every single day. Scarcity of water and erratic climate changes have become unfortunate realities, but we still carry on leading our lives in traditional ways that were meant for a plentiful world. It is said that by 2050, there will be well over nine billion people in the world, and 70% of them will live in urban areas. As a result, there is bound to be food shortage and food security issues. This is why 23-year-old Rutusha Nagaraj Kapini, a fresh graduate of The Oxford School of Architecture, picked vertical farming as the topic for her thesis, which, she says, is the way forward in an urban metropolis like Bengaluru. And such was her research into the topic that she received two awards for it — Zonal Winner, Council of Architecture National Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Architectural Thesis 2017 (top 10 in Zone 4) and Archi Design Best Thesis of the Year Award 2016 (Student of the Year Award — national level).

For her thesis, Rutusha had to find an innovative solution to the following problem: 'Increasing population has drastically reduced farming lands. Raw food, such as vegetables and fruits, are loaded with toxic chemicals and pesticides'. Having attended the All India Convention of Architects in 2008 (both her parents are architects), Rutusha was inspired by Dr Dickson Despommier's speech — he is considered the father of vertical farming. "He spoke about how vertical farming can be beneficial in urban populated cities in India, as it can produce nutritious food that one can access within the city. He is the reason I picked this topic," she says.

CREATING VERTI FARMS
So, what did Rutusha discover through research for her thesis? She found that vertical farming could be an innovative model through architectural design intervention, which minimizes land usage, while still feeding the population. The environmentally-conscious and ecological design is conceived as a network of facilities, with training centres for farmers, and creating bioclimatic buildings of the future — Verti Farms. Throwing more light on the topic, Rutusha says, "Bioclimatic buildings are those that respond to climate; verti farms are inside these buildings. The buildings create an artificial environment within them and are not completely dependent on natural resources. So, design plays a big role. For e.g., they will have solar tubes through which natural sunlight enters the building. There will also be LED light farming (certain LED lights help plants grow). Each of the planters will be placed on rotational carousels within the building. There will be mirrors on the walls that will reflect the natural sunlight (the buildings will not be completely closed and the openings will be protected with stainless-steel meshes). The carousels will be placed in stacked heights; there will be one water inlet source, and since the platforms rotate, the water will be drained out at a single drain pipe, which will lead to the central service core that will be connected to a sewerage treatment plant." Through this method, she adds, only 5% of water is required for five times the yield. Also, changes in weather will not affect the crops much as the environment within the building is controlled.

A VERTI FARM IN LALBAGH?

To get a better idea of how verti farms work, Rutusha went to Singapore for a live study of the Sky Greens there. Having done sufficient research, she has identified a vacant plot of land near Lalbagh that can be put to productive use by setting up India's first vertical farm there. "The government already has HOPCOMS set up in many places; similarly, they could allot land to verti farms. These can serve as interactive spaces for the public, which would encourage them to adapt it on smaller scales, such as at apartment complexes and private layouts. It can even serve as local marketplaces, where the produce is sold fresh," says Rutusha. But wouldn't this harm the income of farmers? "No," says Rutusha, explaining, "Farmers will be required to work on verti farms. Each building will have training centres for the farmers — it will be a free course. Crops often fail due to erratic climate changes, but verti farms reduce that risk, since they are not completely dependent on natural forces. So, farmers will actually be able to generate a steady income."

What is interesting is that verti farms cater to city-specific needs. This reflects in the plants that can be grown in them — fruits and vegetables that we use for daily consumption. This includes tomato, peas, brinjal, curry leaves, basil, lettuce, mint, cauliflower, spring onions, okra, cucumber, lemons and broccoli, among others.

CRUNCHING NUMBERS
The organic building that Rutusha has proposed will be expensive initially, but, she says, costs will breakeven after five years, after which it will be profitable. "A 10-acre site in Lalbagh can accommodate two high-rise verti farms. On the same land, I have proposed the setting up of training and research centres, a local market and an interactive space. All this can be built at an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore," says Rutusha.

The young architect wants to continue research on the subject through a Master programme, apart from creating a startup to convert her thesis into a viable business model. If her efforts come to fruition, Bengaluru could very well be home to India's first vertical farm.