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Green Skyscrapers That Add A Touch of Nature + Sustainability To Modern Architecture!
Polish designers Pawel Lipiński and Mateusz Frankowsk created The Mashambas Skyscraper, a vertical farm tower, that is in fact modular!
06/09/2021
Skyscrapers have taken over most of the major cities today. They’re symbols of wealth and power! And most of the skylines today are adorned with glistening glass skyscrapers. They are considered the face of modern architecture. Although all that glass and dazzle can become a little tiring to watch. Hence, architects are incorporating these tall towers with a touch of nature and greenery! The result is impressive skyscrapers merged with an element of sustainability. These green spaces help us maintain a modern lifestyle while staying connected to nature. We definitely need more of these green skyscraper designs in our urban cities!
Zaha Hadid Architects designed a pair of impressive skyscrapers that are linked by planted terraces, for Shenzhen, China. Named Tower C, the structure is 400 metres in height and is supposed to be one of the tallest buildings in the city. The terraces are filled with greenery and aquaponic gardens! They were built to be an extension of a park that is located alongside the tower and as a green public space.
Polish designers Pawel Lipiński and Mateusz Frankowsk created The Mashambas Skyscraper, a vertical farm tower, that is in fact modular! The tower can be assembled, disassembled and transported to different locations in Africa. It was conceptualised in an attempt to help and encourage new agricultural communities across Africa. The skyscraper would be moved to locations that have poor soil quality or suffer from droughts, so as to increase crop yield and produce.
The Living Skyscraper was chosen among 492 submissions that were received for the annual eVolo competition that has been running since 2006. One of the main goals of the project is to grow a living skyscraper on the principle of sustainable architecture. The ambitious architectural project has been envisioned for Manhattan and proposes using genetically modified trees to shape them into literal living skyscrapers. It is designed to serve as a lookout tower for New York City with its own flora and fauna while encouraging ecological communications between office buildings and green recreation centers. The building will function as a green habitable space in the middle of the concrete metropolis.
ODA’s explorations primarily focus on tower designs, in an attempt to bring versatility and a touch of greenery to NY’s overtly boxy and shiny cityscape. Architectural explorations look at residential units with dedicated ‘greenery zones’ that act as areas of the social congregation for the building’s residents. Adorned with curvilinear, organic architecture, and interspersed with greenery, these areas give the residents a break from the concrete-jungle aesthetic of the skyscraper-filled city. They act as areas of reflection and of allowing people to connect with nature and with one another.
Heatherwick Studio built a 20-storey residential skyscraper in Singapore called EDEN. Defined as “a counterpoint to ubiquitous glass and steel towers”, EDEN consists of a vertical stack of homes, each amped with a lush garden. The aim was to create open and flowing living spaces that are connected with nature and high on greenery.
Designed by UNStudio and COX Architecture, this skyscraper in Melbourne, Australia features a pair of twisting towers placed around a ‘green spine’ of terraces, platforms, and verandahs. Called Southbank by Beulah, the main feature of the structure is its green spine, which functions as the key organizational element of the building.
Mad Arkitekter created WoHo, a wooden residential skyscraper in Berlin. The 98-meter skyscraper will feature 29 floors with different spaces such as apartment rentals, student housing, a kindergarten, bakery, workshop, and more. Planters and balconies and terraces filled with greenery make this skyscraper a very green one indeed!
Algae as energy resources are in their beginnings and are seen as high potential. Extensive research work has dealt with algae as an energy source in recent decades. As a biofuel, they are up to 6 times more efficient than e.g. comparable fuels from corn or rapeseed. The Tubular Bioreactor Algae Skyscraper focuses on the production of microalgae and their distribution using existing pipelines. Designed by Johannes Schlusche, Paul Böhm, Raffael Grimm, the towers are positioned along the transalpine pipeline in a barren mountain landscape. Water is supplied from the surrounding mountain streams and springs, and can also be obtained from the Mediterranean using saltwater.
Tesseract by Bryant Lau Liang Cheng proposes an architecture system that allows residents to participate in not just the design of their own units; but the programs and facilities within the building itself. This process is inserted between the time of purchase for the unit and the total time required to complete construction – a period that is often ignored and neglected. Through this process, residents are allowed to choose their amenities and their communities, enhancing their sense of belonging in the process. Housing units will no longer be stacked in repetition with no relation whatsoever to the residents living in it – a sentimental bond between housing and men results.
In a world devoid of greenery, Designers Nathakit Sae-Tan & Prapatsorn Sukkaset have envisioned the concept of Babel Towers, mega skyscrapers devoted to preserving horticultural stability within a single building. The Babel towers would play an instrumental role in the propagation of greenery in and around the area. These towers would also become attraction centers for us humans, like going to a zoo, but a zoo of plants. Seems a little sad, saying this, but I do hope that we never reach a day where the Babel Tower becomes a necessity. I however do feel that having towers like these now, in our cities, would be a beautiful idea. Don’t you think so too?
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Sustainable Agriculture Technology Can Help Egypt’s Water Crisis
Suweilem said hydroponics is an ideal way to deal with water scarcity and climate change, stressing the need for Arab countries that suffer from a shortage of agricultural lands due to their desert nature, including Egypt, to rely on this type of agriculture
The project of an Egyptian student consisting of using the Sinai environment for sustainable agriculture with the use of less water may be a solution to Egypt’s water scarcity problem.
A picture shows the UAE's al-Badia Farms in Dubai, an indoor vertical farm using innovative hydroponic technology to grow fruits and vegetables all year round, on August 4, 2020. - Badia Farms is the Middle East's Based in downtown Dubai, the farms ground-breaking methods sustainably grow crops without sunlight, soil or pesticides. The farm uses 90% less water compared to open field farming. The companys vision is to revolutionise the agricultural industry in Middle East to provide a solution for the regions food security. Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images.
March 6, 2021
Egyptian student Nada Ayman's project dubbed the Cultural Desert Gravity Center uses the Sinai environment as its main agricultural tool. It also won the 36th Cycle at the 2020 World Architecture Festival.
The project — designed to be built as a cultural center in Wadi el-Weshwash in the town of Nuweiba in south Sinai — uses the surrounding environment, including the mountains, to build an integrated center providing organic nutritional products and natural herbs used in manufacturing medicines and fragrance products. A tourist and entertainment complex offering various educational and entertainment activities is also on the horizon, said Ayman.
Ayman, a student at the Faculty of Applied Arts at Zagazig University, told Al-Monitor via phone she chose the project based on the spiritual meaning of mountains.
She noted, “I was nominated by my professors to participate in the architecture competition. The World Architecture Festival has been in place since 2006, and it has a section dedicated to interior design.”
Ayman said the project consists of a hydroponic farm, which is a system to grow crops without soil. The roots of the plants grow in a liquid nutrient solution that is recycled and reused repeatedly through plants. The hydroponic farm produces medicinal plants, used in the manufacture of medicine, and crops that bear fruit to be served with meals in the farm’s restaurant.
Ayman added, “This type of agriculture uses 70% less water than regular agriculture to produce 100% organic products without using soil or fertilizers. Edible products are served at the restaurant of the farm, while herbal and fragrance products are used to manufacture therapeutic oil for the therapeutic center.”
She chose Wadi el-Weshwash because it is located next to a region of rich valleys whose water and minerals can be utilized in organic agriculture.
The design of the complex features a library, a restaurant and an art studio, Ayman said, noting that the design reached the final stage of the competition and was chosen among five others.
Atef Suweilem, a professor of agricultural engineering at Zagazig University, said the hydroponic agricultural method consists of either growing the seeds of plants or herbs in a nutritive water solution containing the main 12 to 16 nutrients plants need — or growing the plants in an inert solid material so they do not interact with the nutritive solution. Using this method does not require the use of chemical fertilizers, the surplus of which usually seeps into the soil in traditional agriculture, according to Suweilem.
Hydroponic agriculture also protects the plants from pests that live in the soil, as is the case in traditional agriculture, he said, adding that ancient Egyptians were the first to know hydroponics, and perhaps the papyrus plant is the most prominent example of this type of agriculture.
Suweilem said hydroponics is an ideal way to deal with water scarcity and climate change, stressing the need for Arab countries that suffer from a shortage of agricultural lands due to their desert nature, including Egypt, to rely on this type of agriculture.
Yasser Ahmed, an expert in agriculture and a former professor at the Egyptian Agricultural Research Center, stressed the need for Egypt to turn to hydroponics in the near future, as it helps save water and energy and increases productivity. Ahmed said hydroponic agriculture uses 95% less water compared to traditional agriculture. Leaf crops consume about 30% less water than traditional agriculture, and if the cultivation of these crops is expanded on the hydroponic farm, that method can be used widely, he said.
“This is the future of agriculture. We do not want to depend on imports. We hope we will have local production throughout the year, regardless of climate change, weather, rain or drought,” Ahmed said.
Of all sectors in Egypt, the agricultural sector consumes the largest share of water — meaning it consumes roughly more than 85% of the country’s share of irrigation water. Although Egypt has lost some of its fertile lands due to urban sprawl, there is an attempt to balance this through the expansion of agricultural areas in the desert. The total cultivated land was estimated at 9.3 million acres — 3.2 million acres of which are in lands recently reclaimed by the state and 6.9 million acres in other lands, according to the latest 2019 statistics of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
Agriculture is essential to the Egyptian economy, as its added-value represents about 14.5% of the gross domestic product. In 2016, agricultural income reached 256.9 billion Egyptian pounds ($16.3 billion). The sector also employs 29.6% of the working population and represents 11% of all exports. Because of the water shortage, the government issued measures in January 2018 to limit the cultivation of water-intensive crops such as rice.
Rasha Mahmoud
@R_ma7moud200
TOPICS COVERED Agriculture and farming Water Issues Sinai
Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2021/03/egypt-project-agriculture-sinai-water-scarcity-crisis.html#ixzz6oQLQrjPl
SweGreen Becomes Partner In Viable Cities
Viable Cities is an innovation program for smart and sustainable cities. The aim is to accelerate the transition to inclusive and climate-neutral cities by 2030 with digitalization and citizen engagement as enablers
03-03-2021 | Swegreen
SWEDEN- Farming as a Service becomes a new tool in the fight against climate change as the FoodTech enterprise SweGreens joins the Swedish Strategic Innovation Program, Viable Cities.
Viable Cities is an innovation program for smart and sustainable cities. The aim is to accelerate the transition to inclusive and climate-neutral cities by 2030 with digitalization and citizen engagement as enablers.
SweGreen is an innovation company based in Stockholm focused on futuristic, smart, and circular solutions for controlled-environment urban farming. SweGreen own technologies which enables integration of smart vertical farming solutions into real-estate properties. Recently SweGreen has introduced a service for urban production of leafy greens, called Farming as a Service (FaaS), which allows clients to produce greens under their license and close to the city population.
Sweden inspires many other nations and has a leading position in the transition of urbanization context and fighting the climate change through smart and sustainable solutions that could be implemented in cities, says Sepehr Mousavi, member representative, and Chief Sustainability Officer at SweGreen.
Smart urban farming in infrastructure-integrated settings and by harnessing urban resources could be an exponential factor in localizing the food chains in Sweden and cutting back the carbon footprint associated with our food production and supply, he continues.
Viable Cities is growing steadily and new members like SweGreen are joining the current member pool, the likes of Swedish municipalities, Swedish universities and research institutes and other leading innovation companies. Running from 2017 to 2030, the program gathers partners from industry, academia, public and civil society organizations, and jointly funded by the Swedish Innovation Agency (Vinnova), the Swedish Energy Agency and Formas with a total investment of 1 billion SEK (about 100 million EUR).
Viable Cities is coordinated by KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
Together with our member organizations and other stakeholders, we aim to accelerate the transition to climate-neutral cities by 2030 with a good life for all within planetary boundaries, says Olga Kordas, Program Director of Viable Cities and a researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
Transforming our food systems are one of the key challenges, Olga Kordas continues, and we are happy to be joined by SweGreen to co-create solutions for the future.
Andreas Dahlin, CEO of SweGreen, highlights:
We are honored to be part of such a committed and influential strategic program and partner pool as Viable Cities’. We hope to contribute with innovations around the concept of Farming as a Service, which really could impact food production today and in the future. The ability to produce fresh and nutrient food close to the consumer will be one of the big missions for the food industry in the upcoming decades.
For more information:
Sepehr Mousavi, CSO SweGreen, sepehr.mousavi@swegreen.se +46(0)73-3140043
Andreas Dahlin, CEO SweGreen, andreas.dahlin@swegreen.se +46(0)70-9240032
Åsa Minoz, Head of Communications, Viable Cities, asa.minoz@viablecities.se +46(0)722108826
SweGreen is a Swedish GreenTech company that offers digital, efficient, and circular solutions for urban cultivation in a closed and controlled environment. By combining computer science, advanced technology, and plant sciences, SweGreen contributes to the development of urban sustainable food production. The company was established in 2019 and provides consumer products such as various leafy greens and herbs under the brand of Stadsbondens. www.www.swegreen.com
Source and Photo Courtesy of Swegreen
Little Leaf Farms Raises $90M to Grow Its Greenhouse Network
Massachusetts-based Little Leaf Farms has raised $90 million in a debt and equity financing round to expand its network of hydroponic greenhouses on the East Coast. The round was led by Equilibrium Capital as well as founding investors Bill Helman and Pilot House Associates. Bank of America also participated.
by Jennifer Marston
Image from: Little Leaf Farms
Massachusetts-based Little Leaf Farms has raised $90 million in a debt and equity financing round to expand its network of hydroponic greenhouses on the East Coast. The round was led by Equilibrium Capital as well as founding investors Bill Helman and Pilot House Associates. Bank of America also participated.
Little Leaf Farms says the capital is “earmarked” to build new greenhouse sites along the East Coast, where its lettuce is currently available in about 2,500 stores.
The company already operates one 10-acre greenhouse in Devins, Massachusetts. Its facility grows leafy greens using hydroponics and a mixture of sunlight supplemented by LED-powered grow lights. Rainwater captured from the facility’s roof provides most of the water used on the farm.
According to a press release, Little Leaf Farms has doubled its retail sales to $38 million since 2019. And last year, the company bought180 acres of land in Pennsylvania on which to build an additional facility. Still another greenhouse, slated for North Carolina, will serve the Southeast region of the U.S.
Little Leaf Farms joins the likes of Revol Greens, Gotham Greens, AppHarvest, and others in bringing local(ish) greens to a greater percentage of the population. These facilities generally pack and ship their greens on the day of or day after harvesting, and only supply retailers within a certain radius. Little Leaf Farms, for example, currently servers only parts of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey.
The list of regions the company serves will no doubt lengthen as the company builds up its greenhouse network in the coming months.
Where Vertical Farming and Affordable Housing Can Grow Together
Some vertical farms grow greens in old warehouses, former steel mills, or other sites set apart from the heart of cities. But a new series of projects will build multistory greenhouses directly inside affordable housing developments
Some vertical farms grow greens in old warehouses, former steel mills, or other sites set apart from the heart of cities. But a new series of projects will build multistory greenhouses directly inside affordable housing developments.
“Bringing the farm back to the city center can have a lot of benefits,” says Nona Yehia, CEO of Vertical Harvest, a company that will soon break ground on a new building in Westbrook, ME, that combines a vertical farm with affordable housing. Similar developments will follow in Chicago and in Philadelphia, where a farm-plus-housing will be built in the Tioga District, an opportunity zone.
Inside each building, the ground level will offer community access, while the greenhouse fills the second, third, and fourth floors, covering 70,000 square feet and growing around a million pounds of produce a year. (The amount of housing varies by site; in Maine, there will be only 15 units of housing, though the project will create 50 new jobs.)
In Chicago, there may be a community kitchen on the first level. In each location, residents will be able to buy fresh produce on-site; Vertical Harvest also plans to let others in the neighborhood buy greens directly from the farm. While it will sell to supermarkets, restaurants, hospitals, and other large customers, it also plans to subsidize 10% to 15% of its harvest for local food pantries and other community organizations.
“By creating a large-scale farm in a food desert, we are creating a large source of healthy, locally grown food 365 days a year,” Yehia says.
How This Vertical Farm Grows 80,000 Pounds of Produce per Week
To some, the pristine growing conditions and perceived mechanical interference of a vertical farm can seem unnatural, but at Bowery Farming “interference” is actually not the goal at all. “We don’t really think about how people are involved in the growing process, but how to take people out of the growing process”
Bowery Farming uses technology to prioritize accessibility and sustainability in their produce growing operations
To some, the pristine growing conditions and perceived mechanical interference of a vertical farm can seem unnatural, but at Bowery Farming “interference” is actually not the goal at all. “We don’t really think about how people are involved in the growing process, but how to take people out of the growing process” says chief science officer Henry Sztul. “Our goal is actually to have as few people walking around our plants as possible.”
Bowery Farming is a network of vertical farms working to reengineer the growing process. Using a system of light and watering technology, Bowery is able to use 95 percent less water than a traditional outdoor farm, zero pesticides and chemicals, and grow food that tastes as good as anyone else’s.
Bowery Farming uses vertical farm-specific seeds that are optimized for flavor instead of insect resistance and durability. Seeds are mechanically pressed into trays of soil, and sent out into growing positions, or racks within the building that have their own lighting and watering systems. Each tray gets its own QR code so that they can be monitored and assigned a customized plan for water and light until they’re ready to be harvested.
Irving Fain, Bowery Farming’s founder and CEO contemplates the prediction from the United Nations that 70 to 80 percent of the world’s population will be living in and around cities in the next 30 years. “Figuring out ‘how do you feed and how do you provide fresh food to urban environments both more efficiently as well as more sustainably?’ is a very important question today, and an even more important question in the years to come.”
Indoor Farming Company With Backing From Ubben Aims to Solve The Problems With America’s Produce
The agriculture technology company focuses on building an indoor farm in Appalachia. The company combines agricultural techniques with cutting-edge technology and including access for all to nutritious food, farming, and building a homegrown food supply. The company operates a 60-acre controlled environment, agriculture facility in Morehead, Kentucky, which grows juicy beefsteak tomatoes and tomatoes on the vine
Image from: AppHarvest
Company: AppHarvest Inc. (APPH)
The agriculture technology company focuses on building an indoor farm in Appalachia. The company combines agricultural techniques with cutting-edge technology and including access for all to nutritious food, farming, and building a homegrown food supply. The company operates a 60-acre controlled environment, agriculture facility in Morehead, Kentucky, which grows juicy beefsteak tomatoes and tomatoes on the vine. It also operates a 60-acre indoor farm, outside Richmond, Kentucky, where it cultivates fresh fruits and veggies.
The company’s technological systems monitor the pollination across all 68 bays and 684 rows of plants. AppHarvest is only the fourth U.S. public Certified B corporation. A B corporation is a company that has (1) achieved a high standard of social and environmental performance as measured by the B Impact Assessment, (2) verified their scores through transparency requirements, and (3) made a legal commitment to consider all stakeholders, not just shareholders. Any company can apply to be one.
Stock Market Value: $3.3 billion ($33.26 per share)
Image from: CNBC
Activist:
Inclusive Capital
Percentage Ownership:
12.05%
Average Cost:
n/a
Activist Commentary:
Inclusive Capital Partners was formed in 2020 by ValueAct founder Jeff Ubben, to leverage capitalism and governance in pursuit of a healthy planet and the health of its inhabitants. The firm seeks long-term shareholder value through active partnership with companies whose core businesses contribute solutions to this pursuit. Inclusive is a returns driven fund with a focus on environmental and social investing.
Their primary focus is on environmental and social value creation, which leads to shareholder value creation. It is the successor to the ValueAct Spring Fund, which was launched in January 2018 and merged into Inclusive in 2020.
Inclusive is building a huge network and has accessed experts in industries such as energy, electrification, water, agriculture, food production, particulates, education and human rights. Just like ValueAct’s constructive, patient investment style, Inclusive will seek to earn the trust of managers, board members and institutional investors.
Jeff Ubben serves as the portfolio manager and Eva Zlotnicka serves as vice president. Eva has a pre-existing relationship with ValueAct through their interactions with Morgan Stanley, where she served as a VP and U.S. lead for the Global Sustainability Research Team. At Morgan Stanley, she worked to help address and raise awareness of environmental and social issues both inside and outside of corporations.
What’s Happening:
Jeff Ubben was appointed to the company’s Board in connection with the company’s business combination with Novus Capital.
Behind the Scenes:
This was initially an investment of ValueAct Spring Fund, which was converted into Inclusive Capital in 2020. Jeff Ubben first met AppHarvest founder Jonathan Webb in 2017 and has been involved with the company since the 2018 Series A round, working with Webb to put the management team together and develop a strong balance sheet. The company went public on February 1, 2021 through a $100 million SPAC transaction and a $375 million PIPE investment. Jeff Ubben is on the board where he can continue to help the company execute.
AppHarvest plans on having 12 facilities by 2025. The goal here is to make Kentucky the Netherlands of North America. The Netherlands (at 16,000 square miles) is the second largest agricultural exporter in the world, using greenhouse technology to feed two-thirds of all of Europe. In comparison, the state of Kentucky is 40,000 square miles and the US is 3.8 million square miles. AppHarvest’s motivation is first and foremost to benefit society, but if successful would have extraordinary financial returns as well.
As of 2018, 69% of fresh vine crops in the U.S. were imported, mostly from Mexico. These crops are pesticide-laden and grown using labor practices not up to U.S. standards. Moreover, they sit at the border for days and are driven 2,000+ miles to their destination, using tons of diesel fuel and resulting in less fresh produce. AppHarvest produces crops with no pesticides with greater nutrient density, and from their central location can reach 70% of the U.S. population in one day resulting in 80% less diesel fuel and much lower emissions. However, the larger environmental and economic benefit is in how the crops are grown — using 90% less water and yielding thirty times more per acre.
Moreover, AppHarvest’s resources are nature based – the greenhouse structure allows them to use 12 hours of sunlight per day and they collect the heavy Kentucky rainfall for their system resulting in a much less adverse effect on the water supply while greatly decreasing their cost of production by not having to pay for water. The greenhouse system also eliminates any weather or seasonal constraints, allowing the company to grow more efficiently 365 days per year.
While the company has no historic revenue, they just made their first delivery of beefsteak tomatoes on January 19, 2021, to customers that include Walmart, Kroger and Publix
Bringing The Future To life In Abu Dhabi
A cluster of shipping containers in a city centre is about the last place you’d expect to find salad growing. Yet for the past year, vertical farming startup Madar Farms has been using this site in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, to grow leafy green vegetables using 95 per cent less water than traditional agriculture
Amid the deserts of Abu Dhabi, a new wave of entrepreneurs and innovators are sowing the seeds of a more sustainable future.
Image from: Wired
A cluster of shipping containers in a city centre is about the last place you’d expect to find salad growing. Yet for the past year, vertical farming startup Madar Farms has been using this site in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, to grow leafy green vegetables using 95 per cent less water than traditional agriculture.
Madar Farms is one of a number of agtech startups benefitting from a package of incentives from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) aimed at spurring the development of innovative solutions for sustainable desert farming. The partnership is part of ADIO’s $545 million Innovation Programme dedicated to supporting companies in high-growth areas.
“Abu Dhabi is pressing ahead with our mission to ‘turn the desert green’,” explained H.E. Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General of ADIO, in November 2020. “We have created an environment where innovative ideas can flourish and the companies we partnered with earlier this year are already propelling the growth of Abu Dhabi’s 24,000 farms.”
The pandemic has made food supply a critical concern across the entire world, combined with the effects of population growth and climate change, which are stretching the capacity of less efficient traditional farming methods. Abu Dhabi’s pioneering efforts to drive agricultural innovation have been gathering pace and look set to produce cutting-edge solutions addressing food security challenges.
Beyond work supporting the application of novel agricultural technologies, Abu Dhabi is also investing in foundational research and development to tackle this growing problem.
In December, the emirate’s recently created Advanced Technology Research Council [ATRC], responsible for defining Abu Dhabi’s R&D strategy and establishing the emirate and the wider UAE as a desired home for advanced technology talent, announced a four-year competition with a $15 million prize for food security research. Launched through ATRC’s project management arm, ASPIRE, in partnership with the XPRIZE Foundation, the award will support the development of environmentally-friendly protein alternatives with the aim to "feed the next billion".
Image from: Madar Farms
Global Challenges, Local Solutions
Food security is far from the only global challenge on the emirate’s R&D menu. In November 2020, the ATRC announced the launch of the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), created to support applied research on the key priorities of quantum research, autonomous robotics, cryptography, advanced materials, digital security, directed energy and secure systems.
“The technologies under development at TII are not randomly selected,” explains the centre’s secretary general Faisal Al Bannai. “This research will complement fields that are of national importance. Quantum technologies and cryptography are crucial for protecting critical infrastructure, for example, while directed energy research has use-cases in healthcare. But beyond this, the technologies and research of TII will have global impact.”
Future research directions will be developed by the ATRC’s ASPIRE pillar, in collaboration with stakeholders from across a diverse range of industry sectors.
“ASPIRE defines the problem, sets milestones, and monitors the progress of the projects,” Al Bannai says. “It will also make impactful decisions related to the selection of research partners and the allocation of funding, to ensure that their R&D priorities align with Abu Dhabi and the UAE's broader development goals.”
Image from: Agritecture
Nurturing Next-Generation Talent
To address these challenges, ATRC’s first initiative is a talent development programme, NexTech, which has begun the recruitment of 125 local researchers, who will work across 31 projects in collaboration with 23 world-leading research centres.
Alongside universities and research institutes from across the US, the UK, Europe and South America, these partners include Abu Dhabi’s own Khalifa University, and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, the world’s first graduate-level institute focused on artificial intelligence.
“Our aim is to up skill the researchers by allowing them to work across various disciplines in collaboration with world-renowned experts,” Al Bannai says.
Beyond academic collaborators, TII is also working with a number of industry partners, such as hyperloop technology company, Virgin Hyperloop. Such industry collaborations, Al Bannai points out, are essential to ensuring that TII research directly tackles relevant problems and has a smooth path to commercial impact in order to fuel job creation across the UAE.
“By engaging with top global talent, universities and research institutions and industry players, TII connects an intellectual community,” he says. “This reinforces Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s status as a global hub for innovation and contributes to the broader development of the knowledge-based economy.”
Farm In A Box Planned For Bridgeport's East End
BRIDGEPORT — You will not find any vast acres of fertile soil and crops in the East End neighbourhood. So the state, city and area activists have teamed with an entrepreneur on what they all said they believe is the next best thing: farmland in a box
Image from: CT Post
BRIDGEPORT — You will not find any vast acres of fertile soil and crops in the East End neighbourhood. So the state, city and area activists have teamed with an entrepreneur on what they all said they believe is the next best thing: farmland in a box.
Joe Alvarez, founder of High Ridge Hydroponics of Ridgefield, describes it on his website as “an indoor, vertical, hydroponic, shipping container farm to be located in the most urban settings throughout the world.” And the East End — which has been labeled a “food desert” because of the lack of fresh edibles easily available to residents there — will be that urban setting.
“We’re very excited about this,” Keith Williams, head of the East End Neighborhood Revitalization Zone community group, said during a teleconference Friday announcing a $49,999 state grant for Alvarez’s project. “Fresh vegetables. Healthy. That’s what we’re all about — healthy eating.”
High Ridge’s container will produce young micro-greens from broccoli, kale, cabbage, arugula and other plants to be sold at the East End NRZ’s market as a salad mix.
“These greens are harvested after only 10 to 14 days from being planted, which is extremely quick (and) they are super concentrated in nutrition,” Alvarez said.
Friday’s teleconference included several dignitaries who pledged to do everything they can to ensure High Ridge’s success in town, including Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, state Agriculture Commissioner Bryan Hurlburt, state Sen. Marilyn Moore, state Rep. Andre Baker, Mayor Joe Ganim and Edward Lavernoich of the Bridgeport Economic Development Corporation.
“I hope this project has a lasting and positive impact on your community,” Bysiewicz said. “And I hope it will become a model for other urban areas in our state to grow their own food using innovative technology and techniques.”
“This is not just a shipping container in the city,” Hurlburt said. “This is a much larger, deeper and richer project that we get to celebrate today.”
State Rep. Joe Gresko, D-Stratford, was also included, but wearing a different hat. Gresko works for Ganim continuing a mission started by former Mayor Bill Finch to turn Bridgeport from an ex-manufacturing hub into a leader in the green and environmentally sustainable economy.
It was under Finch that the East End was previously promised an urban green house on the site of the former “Mt. Trashmore” illegal dump. That project, dubbed “Boot Camp Farms” because it would hire veterans, was announced in 2013 and was also supposed to have financial backing from the state. But the developers had no prior experience in that field and the proposal never broke ground.
Alvarez, according to his online biography, “studied environmental science at Fordham University in New York City, graduated in May of 2017 (and) has worked as a private organic gardener, an aquaponic farmer, built greenhouses, maintained greenhouses and designed several custom hydroponic growing systems.”
Hurlburt said he felt confident the new project would be a success.
Alvarez “has limited experience but he knows what he’s doing. ... I know how much Joe was calling us and emailing us and how badly he wanted this grant to make it a reality. I know his heart is right where it needs to be to make it a success.”
“We’re all in this together to make sure Joe has the support he needs to be successful,” Hurlburt emphasized.
There are still important details to be finalized, including getting a site for the shipping container and additional money to cover the full, nearly $150,000 cost. Gresko said that the NRZ was negotiating to use some property and that “when the time comes” Bridgeport will “match” additional private funds Alvarez obtains.
“We’re going to keep an eye on this and troubleshoot as we go forward any issues,” Gresko said.
Alvarez said he hopes to complete construction by the fall. And the colder months are when his crops will be the most needed, said Deborah Sims, who operates the NRZ market.
“After farmer’s market season is over, we have difficulty sourcing (fresh food),” Sims said.
“Three hundred sixty five (days) we’re going to have the greens available,” said Gresko.
Baker recalled how his East End funeral home has hosted some farmer’s markets and called the High Ridge project “a long time coming.” He also told Bysiewicz he hoped similar initiatives to offer more fresh food to his constituents will follow.
“Lieutenant governor, we’re going to be leaning on you and the governor for more support,” he said. “You’re going to hear more from us.”
Feeding Leeds: A Fair and Self-Sustaining Food System for the City
A bold vision for feeding the population of Leeds would transform the city into a far more food secure, fair and sustainable place to live. Analysts from the University of Leeds’ Global Food and Environment Institute studied the city’s food system to assess its resilience in the face of supply chain and delivery disruptions caused by severe weather, climate change and events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit
Image from: University of Leeds
A bold vision for feeding the population of Leeds would transform the city into a far more food secure, fair and sustainable place to live.
Analysts from the University of Leeds’ Global Food and Environment Institute studied the city’s food system to assess its resilience in the face of supply chain and delivery disruptions caused by severe weather, climate change and events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit.
The urban food system includes all the activities involved in the production, distribution and consumption of food within a city.
They mapped and analysed publicly available data relating to agricultural production and human health in the metropolitan district and discovered that 48.4% of the city’s total calorific demand can be met by current commercial food production activities.
This is relatively high for such an urbanised space, but there is little diversity in what is being produced. Three cereal crops (wheat, barley, oats) dominate the Leeds production system, reflecting a post-war food system that focused on energy supply. This means that most of the fruits and vegetables consumed in the city are transported in from elsewhere.
The researchers’ findings also show that the most deprived areas of the district, which have higher rates of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, are also likely to be the first to be impacted by supply disruptions. The resulting food shortages can increase prices, and people on low incomes may not have the option to travel to larger supermarkets or afford to bulk buy.
The researchers say there are no quick and easy options for significantly increasing the security, fairness, or sustainability of the food system supplying Leeds.
But they say the metropolitan district’s sizeable number of farmers, manufacturers, suppliers, and food services could all contribute to improving its food resilience by creating a system which provides easy access to healthy foods, shares energy, reuses water and nutrients and repurposes local infrastructure and resources.
Caroline Orfila, who led the study, published today in the journal Food Security, is Professor of Plant Biochemistry and Nutrition in the School of Food Science and Nutrition. She said: “Our work demonstrates the inequalities in food production and dietary health.
“The local food production system can only provide around 50% of the calories needed by the population, highlighting that ‘eating local’ is not currently possible for everyone. In particular, the local food system would not provide sufficient protein or fats. The lack of food diversity suggests current food production is also unlikely to meet vitamin and mineral requirements.
“Any disruptions to food production, distribution or retail, from flooding, longer term climate change, COVID-19 or Brexit, is likely to impact those in deprived areas the most.
“Disruptions tend to cause shortages in some food categories, which then increase food prices. People on low incomes spend more of their income on food; any increases in food prices will limit what they can afford to buy.
“People in deprived areas have limited choice of where to buy foods, they may not have private transport to access larger supermarkets or access to online shopping. They may also not have the cash flow or storage space to buy items in bulk, relying on what is available.
“Interventions are needed to level up those areas.”
Researchers identified more than 1,000km2 of warehousing, derelict land, and unused floor space in abandoned buildings, with direct or possible connections to renewable energy and water.
Half of this land lay near food banks, community centres and numerous food processors and outlets.
The land could potentially be used for no waste innovative farming techniques, including vertical food farms, where crops are grown in vertically stacked layers; green walls, where plants grow on vertical surfaces, and rooftop agriculture, where fresh produce is grown on top of buildings.
The study found that within the metropolitan district of Leeds there is substantial food activity with more than 5,500 businesses and charities supplying fresh and prepared food, including fast food providers, restaurants, and supermarkets. Some 23 food banks are located within the inner-city area.
There are almost 100 hectares of allotment controlled by Leeds City Council, and approximately 39 hectares of private allotment and community growing areas in the Leeds Metropolitan District.
Lead author Dr Paul Jensen, also from Leeds' School of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Leeds, said: “We found there are numerous underutilised city assets that could be incorporated into a resource efficient urban food ecosystem, which could include a mix of vertical farming, hydroponics, or more conventional growing methods.
“Most notably, many of these areas are within those suffering most from food poverty, diet related health issues and a limited intake of fruit and vegetables - those who are usually the first to suffer during a crisis situation.”
The research identified locations for ‘food hubs’ that connect producers to consumers and discuss the need for a coordinated approach between producers, government, charitable groups and consumers in creating a more sustainable food system.
The research was carried out with FoodWise Leeds, a not-for-profit campaign by Leeds City Council, the University of Leeds, businesses and charities to address food health and sustainability issues.
FoodWise Leeds co-ordinator Sonja Woodcock, said: “This past year has highlighted how vulnerable the local food system is. Taking a coordinated approach and implementing available policy levers, such as including local food within public procurement contracts, increasing access to land for both commercial and community food growing, as well as investing in cooking and food skills will help to create a more resilient and fair local food system.”
Professor Orfila added: “These findings are significant because it shows the vulnerability and inequality of UK cities and urban food systems. The situation in Leeds mirrors the situation in many other cities worldwide.”
Professor Steve Banwart, Global Food and Environment Institute Director said: “The results of this study provide essential evidence to guide access to nutrition for the entire population. The project dramatically changes our view of what is a city and what is a farm and catalyses our partnerships to build a more resilient community.”
Further Information
‘Mapping the Production-Consumption Gap of an Urban Food System: An Empirical Case Study of Food Security and Resilience’ and is published on 8 February in the journal Food Security. It is available online here:https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12571-021-01142-2.
For media enquiries, contact University of Leeds press office via pressoffice@leeds.ac.uk.
NASA's Challenge To Grow Food In Space Can Win You Up To $500,000
There are thousands of bizarre challenges doing the rounds on the internet. These unique challenges soon go viral on the internet, with countless participants hopping on board. A number of these challenges also involve some form of food. If you're a food innovator who's looking for the next interesting challenge to take up, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) may have something for you. The NASA, in collaboration with Canada's CSA (Central Space Agency), has launched a 'Deep Space Food Challenge'. The one-of-a-kind competition seeks to find food production technologies which are sustainable in long duration missions to outer space.
NASA has launched a 'Deep Space Food Challenge' to prompt innovation of food production techniques and technologies viable in outer space.
Image from: Deep Space Food
There are thousands of bizarre challenges doing the rounds on the internet. These unique challenges soon go viral on the internet, with countless participants hopping on board. A number of these challenges also involve some form of food. If you're a food innovator who's looking for the next interesting challenge to take up, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) may have something for you.
The NASA, in collaboration with Canada's CSA (Central Space Agency), has launched a 'Deep Space Food Challenge'. The one-of-a-kind competition seeks to find food production technologies which are sustainable in long duration missions to outer space.
Our cargo resupply missions can only go so far! That's why we need your help to design a food system to keep our astronauts feed during long duration space exploration.
— NASA Wallops (@NASA_Wallops) January 30, 2021
Check out the @NASAPrize Deep Space Food Challenge: https://t.co/9mxtZXbwaC pic.twitter.com/izU8nSqPDc
A short video explaining the purpose behind the challenge was shared by the official handle. The 56-second clip elaborated on how astronauts embarking on lunar space exploration missions usually rely on pre-packaged meals or resupply of food through shuttles from Earth.
Thus, creating a brand, new food production system with minimal input and nutritious output with minimal wastage can go a long way in fuelling longer duration space explorations. The challenge's focus is on identifying food production technologies that can help feed a crew of four astronauts and help fill food gaps for a three-year round-trip mission with no resupply required from Earth.
These innovative food production methods may also help communities on Earth living in harsh conditions and extreme climates. This could also help tackle food insecurity in the future, which is one of the biggest issues that loom large today. "Solutions identified through this Challenge could support these harsh environments, and also support greater food production in other milder environments, including major urban centres where vertical farming, urban agriculture and other novel food production techniques can play a more significant role," stated the Deep Space Food Challenge's official website.
.@NASA & @csa_asc are launching a Deep Space Food Challenge to develop food production tech in space.
— NASA STI Program (@NASA_STI) January 28, 2021
Hey @GuyFieri, how about Diners, Drive-Ins, Dives & Deep Space? #STIdocs #Flavortown 🚀🥘
Read about it: https://t.co/fnz80uwpJT
See research: https://t.co/18q6RG3L2G pic.twitter.com/lSRTiiAFes
Registrations for the challenge close on 28th May, and submissions are due 30th July, 2021. Winners of Phase 1 of the challenge will be announced in the month of September this year. The prize money for winners of Phase 1 can go up to USD 500,000 (Rs. 3.64 crores approximately). So, if you have an exciting idea to produce food which could help future space missions - you know what to do!
Advice For New Vertical Farmers: Grower Spotlight on Andrew Worrall
Andrew is LettUs Grow’s Farm Manager, he manages two of our sites across Bristol and has brought a wealth of knowledge into the company through his previous experience in indoor farming roles across the UK including at Grow Up, Raynor Foods & RootLabs. In this three part interview, we explore what it’s been like to move from animal husbandry to indoor farming, the lessons he’s learned along the way, what it’s like working at LettUs Grow and his advice for those new to indoor growing.
Last week we spoke about running a farm at LettUs Grow. What excites you about vertical farming?
It’s the future of the industry. Also, the amount of salad that these farms can produce for their local community. We want to be able to eat salad all year round and we import to make that happen. However, just a small farm can easily provide for its local community, very efficiently and all year round. The sustainability element is also exciting: with our salad there’s no food miles, it’s very minimalistic. You could use an electric van or bike to distribute this crop if you wanted to. It’s a step forward in terms of what we need to do to take care of our planet.
What do you think are the biggest downsides to vertical farming?
It’s still a new technology and it can be expensive. The biggest roadblock facing the industry is that we need more people and companies to collaborate together to make sure we can build these farms at a sensible rate, so we can provide farms to anyone. We want to be able to provide farms to people, communities and countries that don’t have a lot of money, so that they can provide affordable fresh produce to local people.
How has vertical farming impacted your life?
Massively! I wanted to find my passion, a job that I loved - that was very important to me. It’s satisfying to be in a position now where I’m very happy to be doing what I do and I look forward to going into work. I was happy to make the move from London to Bristol. I would have moved even further if it meant being able to continue working within this industry.
Image from: LettUs Grow
How do you see vertical farming playing a part in the future?
When indoor farming first came about, it had a reputation of being competition for outdoor farming, which just isn’t the case. There’s so much we can’t grow that outdoor farming can provide, such as cereal crops. I’m glad we’re at a stage where indoor and outdoor farms can start to work together to optimise both methods. With these new relationships, there should be a good increase in the amount of indoor farms you’ll be seeing. What LettUs Grow offers with DROP & GROW™ is an exciting project because that’s a 40ft shipping container which can be placed pretty much anywhere. It’s not that big - it could go in a car park or behind a restaurant, but actually provide quite a lot of salad to that area.
How much of our food should be grown this way?
Good question. If you had asked me a while back I would have just said salad, but now I’ve changed my mind. Indoor farming can have a massive impact on propagation, especially aeroponics, because of how we aerate and nourish our roots. We could start lettuce for greenhouse projects and we can also propagate tomatoes, strawberries and tree whips. Propagating trees in this way could potentially be hugely beneficial and it’s something we want to do more of.
We can also quickly grow large amounts of microgreens, baby leafs, herbs and we can grow fruiting crops like strawberries. We are slowly chipping away and it’s really exciting. I’m waiting to see if I can ever say I’ve grown or propagated every crop that can be grown in these farms!
What do you think are the biggest benefits of vertical farming?
How fast these crops can grow! The turnover can be as short as 5 days from seed, depending on the crop. Also how clean it can be - I’m very dedicated to making sure these farms are built to ensure they are easy to be maintained and clean. The most exciting part is the crop growth rate though - it’s incredible how fast our crop grows from seed to plate. In a very well maintained growing calendar, which Ostara® is great for supporting, you can optimise your beds so that the day you harvest can also be the day you germinate onto that same bed. Your farms can be forever providing salad at very fast rates.
Image from: LettUs Grow
What was the biggest change you encountered during your years indoor farming?
Moving from being a production grower to an R&D grower. It has been a great change! As a production grower I knew what I needed to know about growing the plant safely and getting it onto a plate so it was good for the consumer. Now I’m fully optimising, learning and understanding the plants completely, so that I can help the grower that I used to be. We spend a lot of time on crop recipes to make sure that whoever we sell our farms to can start up very quickly and they won’t have to spend months developing their crops. If they have the customers and clients behind them, they can buy DROP & GROW and start producing salad as soon as it's been commissioned.
What was the biggest change you encountered in the industry?
More and more people are speaking about what’s going on in the industry and getting involved. I get so many messages on LinkedIn with people who want to get into this career. It’s exciting to see that indoor growing is a career people can access now. When I was developing my skills I didn’t know I would end up in indoor farming. There are more opportunities than ever before. For example, our Crop Technician is doing a placement here for 2 years. The aim is that they can gain the skill sets and knowledge they need to then go off and do the same practice in any farm they want.
What advice do you have for people who are looking to start a career in growing?
Reach out to companies who are already out there. You could start off part-time or as an assistant. If you are patient and dedicated then it’s a journey I promise you won’t regret. It takes a lot of work, but the outcome is amazing - you’ll be learning so much about this new technology. You’ll also build great relationships: there are so many amazing people in this industry who are so interesting, with different backgrounds, who are willing to share their knowledge. You can always learn more and other people are a great source of that.
What about for those looking to start a vertical farming business?
Do your homework. There are people out there who you can reach out to and it’s very easy to get information. It’s very easy to get excited about the idea and jump straight into it, because it is exciting and can be very rewarding, but it’s really important to do it step by step. Know how to scale properly, learning the differences between a small and larger farm. Understand how many people you’ll need and the logistics. I’d also advise people to get some practical work experience before you buy. You want to start the company knowing the tricks of the trade.
Image from: LettUs Grow
LettUs Grow Blog: www.lettusgrow.com/blog/advice-for-vertical-farmers
Nature Fresh Farms Releases NEW 100% Home Compostable Cucumber Wrap
An alternative to traditional polyethylene plastic, this film is an environmentally friendly compostable wrap that breaks down in a household compost without leaving behind microplastics
Leamington, ON (September 8, 2020) – Nature Fresh Farms continue their sustainable initiatives by releasing a new, 100% home compostable wrap for their Long English Cucumbers, a first in the North American market.
An alternative to traditional polyethylene plastic, this film is an environmentally friendly compostable wrap that breaks down in a household compost without leaving behind microplastics. The compostable film will prolong the shelf life of the product; however, it will do so without adding to long term landfill waste. Made from a starch-based PLA that is derived from plant-based resources including non-GMO corn starch, it is 100% compostable, breaking down naturally into CO2 and water.
Each cucumber wrap contains 0.00436 lbs of plastic; this translates to the equivalent of 23-million plastic straws saved from landfills for every 5-million Cucumbers wrapped in the compostable film. Cucumbers are packed in shrink wrap to significantly extend their life by minimizing evaporation. Through the compostable film, Nature Fresh Farms has found a packaging solution that can maintain the shelf life of the Cucumber, while meeting the demands of more sustainable packaging alternatives.
“The launch of the compostable wrap is a demonstration of our commitment to our consumer’s wants of reducing plastic usage. We are excited to be first to market with this initiative in North American and are hopeful this will start a trend with the industry while we continue to lead in sustainable packaging solutions.”
--Matt Quiring, Director of Sales
In addition, the wrap includes a PLU pre-printed on the film in compostable ink. This feature allows the entire wrap to be thrown in with backyard compost or in landfills without harming the environment. PLU stickers are commonly made of vinyl and plastic. This new wrap eliminates the need for the additional application.
“After two years of research & development and a lot of trial & error, it’s so exciting to see this film launch in the market. We are confident in this product’s ability to make a true difference
(in reducing harmful plastic waste)”
---Luci Faas, Product Development Specialist
At Nature Fresh Farms we are driven to accelerate innovation via evidence-informed sustainable packaging solutions that provide a better experience for our customers, while also helping to preserve the vitality of our planet.
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About Nature Fresh Farms -
Continuously expanding, Nature Fresh Farms has become one of the largest independent, vertically integrated greenhouse vegetable farms in North America. As a year-round grower with farms in Leamington ON, Delta OH, and Mexico, Nature Fresh Farms prides itself on consistently delivering exceptional flavor and quality to key retailers throughout North America, while continuing to innovate and introduce more viable and sustainable growing and packaging solutions.
SOURCE: Nature Fresh Farms | info@naturefresh.ca T: 519 326 1111 | www.naturefresh.ca