Apr 25, 2022
Rendering by Yaniv Peer & Mihai Burloiu
Editor’s note: The following information is derived from an interview Agritecture conducted with Yaniv Peer, Director at Iguana Architects, as part of Agritecture Studios. This first virtual Agritecture Designer cohort supported architects with a deep interest in urban agriculture who lacked the technical background necessary to move forward with their concepts confidently. Learn more about Agritecture Studio's first cohort!
Temporary public spaces have become the new attraction.
Urban spaces no longer only need to meet the purposes of permanence and function, they now also need to provide ever-changing entertainment activities to attract the public.
These temporary spaces have established their own architectural category, either providing faster assembly infrastructure in the face of natural disasters or amplifying residential or abandoned spaces in cities.
This means of revitalizing undeveloped or abandoned land has numerous benefits. It allows us to make more efficient use of the limited land that is available in urban built-up spaces. It’s a win for property owners who can get tax benefits from land that they previously had no decided purpose for. And, for the community, it acts as a new space to bring people together for social, cultural, or other needs.
How do we integrate food into the growing number of temporary spaces?
This is the challenge Yaniv Peer, Director at Iguana Architects, and Mihai Burloiu, Creative Director at Inimus Visuals, took on when they decided to participate in Agritecture Studios to design solutions for urban food access and resilience.
With his expertise in biomimetic and biophilic design strategies, Peer comments that “food is the great equalizer! But too few of us have secure access to it, understand how it impacts our health, or know how to grow it.” And, because of this, Peer firmly believes that “food should be grown locally. We lose approximately 14% of the world's food supply between harvest and retail and this says nothing of the carbon footprint of shipping food.”
As a result of this belief, Peer & Burloiu formed ‘Nomadic Farms’ to develop empty parcels of land “to nurture self-sustaining diverse communities that understand how to grow, harvest, and sell locally-grown, low-carbon, fresh, nutritious food.”
After having worked on several London-based projects, Peer highlights how “there are 6,700 acres of undeveloped land in London,” making this the perfect location for their project. And, “based on the Nomadic Farms model, this area equates to just over 915,000 tonnes of food per annum.”
How will they make the best use of this temporary space?
Peer & Burloiu don’t want to limit the temporary space’s experience to just food. “In partnership with a number of food, entertainment, and co-working operators,” they say that “there exists an opportunity to create an all-day venue. A space where people can congregate to eat, work, play and learn.”
To do this, the team has developed a split growth farm model. This approach “places the early stages of food production outside of city centers, in areas of lower rental costs, such as industrial sites.” And, “once the project reaches a specific stage of maturity, it will be shipped to temporary sites throughout London where less experienced hands can manage the remaining [stages of the] food growth cycle.”
The team aims to “create food streetscapes and mega spaces along the ground floor.” And, in comparison to other temporary spaces, it will have the added benefit of the “food tasting spectacularly fresh and being extraordinarily nutritious, but also being grown right above your head.”
How do they plan to actualize this vision?
Thinking realistically about their project, they plan to “leverage existing knowledge in shipping container structures and greenhouse technology to create a ‘kit of part’ model that can be rapidly assembled and disassembled so that meanwhile sites can be utilized and return on investment [can be] maximized.”
Designer models of the out-of-city farm by Yaniv Peer & Mihai Burloiu
The out-of-city model will have vertical farms using a Nutrient Film Technology system in a 3,025 square meter site for a total bedspace of 5,624.6 square meters. Using Agritecture Designer, the team estimated that this will feed 6,002 persons daily, costing a total of £3,025,000. Peer also estimated that “it will take approximately 1.1 years to pay back the initial farm set up costs and 4.3 years to pay for the refurbishment costs.”
The inner-city model “will start out in a location identified as key to gaining prominence and in a context where there are a diverse set of communities.” The greenhouse in this model is expected to use 8,775 square meters of land to bring in a “maximum annual revenue of £6,849,449.” With Designer, the team calculated that it will take approximately 6.32 years to pay back the initial farm setup cost (inclusive of the reusable structure).”
Floors plans for the inner city model by Yaniv Peer & Mihai Burloiu
The inner-city model also considers sustainability. “The rainwater collection systems will be incorporated on the roof area of 8,775 square meters.” And so, “it has the capacity to collect 5,142 cubic meters of water; approximately 10% of annual water demand can be met through rainwater collection.”
As a whole, these farms will grow a range of microgreens, salad mixes, and lettuces, alongside tomatoes, cucumbers, and shallots. The plan is for “the large proportion of the food grown to be sold to the in-house street food vendors.”
What benefits will this bring to the various stakeholders?
Peer brings up the impact on children in the community. “There are around 400,000 children who suffer from low food security [in greater London]. It's a wonder that we leave all this land undeveloped.” He believes that with this project “we can feed our most vulnerable members of society and have plenty of fresh produce left to sell for profit. And in a world where a burger will cost you one pound, but a salad will cost you upwards of five, teaching the next generation about nutrition and how to grow their own food as part of a community has never been more important.”
Additionally, the upper floors of the inner-city model will include “co-working and community education spaces that look directly onto the fruit production areas.” Other “benefits to local communities are jobs, training and education opportunities are going to be created. And in an era of COVID-19, this has never been more important.”
From the perspective of undeveloped site owners, Peer says that this project is still a win because “they can generate revenue from empty plots which are otherwise left to fall into disrepair. In addition, the street scene will improve to create a more beautiful local area.”
With data backing up Peer and Burloiu’s vision for a Temporary Food Hub in London, we’re excited to see how this project comes to fruition. Get started with Agritecture Designer today to make your urban agricultural dreams a reality!