Oct 28, 2022
Editor’s Note: The following is an interview Agritecture conducted with Nikita Shumeiko, a Ukrainian-Russian architect and designer.
In the late 2010s, a new trend began to take hold in the architecture world: green and sustainable design. Green architecture is a planet-forward approach to design and building that minimizes the harmful effects of our built world on human health and the environment. This umbrella term includes topics such as biophilic design, an approach to architecture that seeks to connect building occupants more closely to nature; net-zero buildings, constructing new or retrofitting existing buildings for energy efficiency, passive house design; and so on and so forth.
Nikita’s Story
Now, a new generation of architectural designers is taking this style of design to new heights, recognizing the important role that structures and objects play in connecting to and respecting our environment. Meet Nikita Shumeiko, a Ukrainian-Russian architect and designer. Nikita is a co-founder of his own business, AMMG Architects, which focuses on architecture, interior design and agricultural production. Along with his partner, Vadim Martynov, Nikita successfully implements projects of various scales and levels of complexity around the world, from the design of apartments and houses to residential complexes and industrial plants.
Shumeiko’s chandelier is a great example of biophilic design in practice.
Hydroponic and crop rotation systems first caught Nikita’s attention when he was in graduate school, and as part of his masters thesis, he began looking at how these innovations could be integrated into interior design and architectural projects. His portfolio features a range of designs from chandeliers to skyscrapers. He comments, “2017 and 2018 were really the boom period for designers and architects looking at the intersection of technology, agriculture and design. Everyone’s designs suddenly had some component of this intersection within them.” This interest in incorporating plants into designs, whether architectural or smaller scale, such as green walls, continues to flourish.
In 2018, Nikita entered the 4th Agrohacaton, a design competition held in Moscow’s modern scientific and technological innovation complex “Skolkovo”. The competition took place over three days and tasked contestants with creating working intellectual structures for the cultivation of ornamental, edible and medicinal plants that benefit people and the environment. Nikita produced a hydroponic chair and took home the first prize.
From there, he began consulting with the vertical farming company iFarm and together they have installed around 50 rooftop greenhouses in Moscow to date. He has also begun envisioning “green-settlements” in which sustainable energy, water, and food innovations are considered.
Scaling Biophilic Design
A concept rendering of a rooftop garden designed by Shumeiko in collaboration with iFarm.
As a young entrepreneur and designer, Nikita presents his integration of biophilia in his concepts and work as a staple rather than a supplemental feature. He sees opportunity and necessity for green design in everything from furniture to large-scale skyscrapers. He comments, “we are in this age of design and ecological consideration right now,” propelling green design to the forefront of the public eye. Green wall installations can be found everywhere, from hotels to private homes. Nikita is one of the many architects and designers that recognize that their work exists in embedded systems and plays a crucial role in rethinking the way in which humanity both protects itself from and respects the living environment that surrounds us.
Contemplating his vision for the future, Nikita wants to turn his attention to skyscrapers and city planning as the world becomes increasingly urbanized. When considering these structures from a design perspective, he asks, “How can we integrate more greenery, reduce pollution, and increase the use of renewable energy?” Using this question as his guiding lens, Nikita has envisioned a highly automated agro-industrial complex that presents a high-altitude urban farm with three circular towers.
The Future of Design
These towers subvert our expectations of a typical skyscraper, emulating organic shapes found in nature. By considering the environment not only through agricultural installations, but also in the architectural planning stage, Nikita infused the buildings with natural elements both inside and out. He considered symbolism like the sun and moon in the design process, which is incorporated in the spherical forms. One tower allows air to flow through it. Even the proposed location for the design was thought out carefully; Nikita intends for the design to be located in Yakutsk, a city in Siberia. His idea of nurturing community through biophilic design could be realized with the construction of these towers in an isolated town.
The structures incorporate indoor farms and controlled environment agriculture (CEA), so they would allow for more localized production in Yakutsk. Since the Siberian landscape is not conducive to growing crops, these facilities could nurture local production, creating jobs and making the town more self-sufficient.
This type of thinking incorporates the natural environment’s needs into a built structure, putting the Earth’s needs before our own. This mindset encourages us to be stewards of the world around us, which is increasingly important as we see climate change affecting our planet.
You can find other examples of the intersection between biophilic design and agriculture from our first Agritecture Studios cohort. As this movement towards green architecture gains traction, those who get to interact with the spaces will feel the benefits. Studies suggest that having houseplants in one’s home or workplace can increase wellbeing in various ways. Nurturing plants can also improve symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Shumeiko’s designs exist along a spectrum of scale, from a green chandelier to a biophilic chair to an innovative skyscraper. By embracing greenery at every level of design, we center the earth in our lives, remaining mindful of our impact. This mindfulness is important, as it reminds us that we must preserve our planet for future generations. Shumeiko’s unique scalable approach to design is an inspiration to others worldwide, offering a framework for architects to help preserve the natural environment in built structures.