LOFT 2011 - London Farm Tower

London, 2011


Population growth and urban centralization lead to increased demand for real estate market and for food. One possible solution is vertical farming. AWR therefore proposes the design of a new kind of skyscraper on the Thames waterfront, inserted into the new city skyline.


Vertical Farming: architecture and nature working together.
In the year 2000, Dickson Despommier (Professor of Environmental Science at Columbia University in New York) developed the concept of vertical farms, in collaboration with various architectural firms. Vertical urban farming means the cultivation of agriculture products and livestock in multi-storey tower structures, inserted within metropolitan areas.
The benefits offered by this technology are:
- Continuous, non-seasonal supply of agricultural products
- Reconstruction of a balanced ecosystem, through the reduction of cultivated land.
- Safeguarded agricultural production against the damage caused by natural disasters such as
  droughts, floods.
- Reduction of water consumption
- Reduction of CO2 emissions, by eliminating the use of pollutants machineries such as tractors
  and    vehicles for the transport of goods for long distances.
- Decreased cost of food products
- Social benefits such as creating new job opportunities and education for the community.
The competition requires the design of a vertical farm with a residential use.
In the city there is still a strong demand for housing and for public functions in downtown areas where the presence of public transportation makes the site extremely strategic.


AWR will give you a chance to confront these issues and problems into LOFT 2011.