URBAN FOOD PRODUCTION

URBAN FOOD PRODUCTION

LOCATION

Royal Docks, 10, Harbour Exchange Square, Isle of Dogs, London, City of London, Greater London, England, E14 9GE, United Kingdom

Project Description

Vertical Aeroponics Farming To Feed the Growing Population of the Royal Docks

On a global scale, the expected population growth will require additional arable land of soil the size of Brazil just for agriculture in order to sustain its food demand. However, this land does not exist, and we need to think of innovative methods of food production. Cities are the biggest food consumers, with London being one of the prime examples.
The chosen site in the Royal Docks is currently an underutilized brownfield once used for food-related practices, and the proposal aims to revitalise the lost sense of place by re-imagining food-related practices of 21st century.

The project aims to cut down the supply chain of fruits and vegetables import London by introducing a vertical farming production facility in the centre of the Royal Docks. The proposal tackles issues related to current agricultural practices such as land use, flooding, deforestation, energy loss, and long supply chain, which are the main reasons for food shortages. Thus, the project uses minimal land, water, and energy, through vertical stacking food systems covered under a complex in design roof, which harvests rainwater and energy to sustain all the food production.

The proposal will sustain the needed fruit and vegetable nutrition intake of the growing population of the Royal Docks, London (19,200 people), with the possibility to extend the food production further in the future (76,800 people in total).

The project proposes a new research and educational hub for innovation in relation to future urban agricultural practices. It aims to add enormous social, cultural, innovative value, which creates jobs for the local community and a new local trade market. The proposal becomes a new community and gathering space in the heart of the historically rich site of the Royal Docks, which is protected from surface water flooding through flood-resilient strategies.

Desislava Asenova

MArch

The possibilities of sustainable materials, forms of construction and design, and operational means have the design process throughout my studies in Bachelors and Masters in Architecture. Computational design and coding have been a leading interest as a means to test my imagination and create complex but realistic design proposals.