14 DAY TRIAL // As part of a recent competition called LOFT 2011, AWR encouraged architects to design a vertical farm with a residential use, a new kind of skyscraper on the Thames waterfront.
Vertical urban farming means the cultivation of agriculture products and livestock in multi-storey tower structures, inserted within metropolitan areas.
Participants had to build a real vertical village, which may include a public plaza, shopping areas, restaurants and residences. At the same time, the project had to allow people to enjoy both indoor and outdoor activities, regardless of the weather.
They also had to make sure their projects meet the requirements of the World Green Building Council, to determine which materials are best suited for the construction of a vertical farm, identify resistant, light, transparent and long-term materials, experiment with innovative materials.
The winners, chosen from no less than 65 entries, have just been announced, with VAWA ("Vertical agriculture with architecture") placing first. The South Korean team behind this project managed to impress the jurors despite the fact it looks like a tree wrapped in a spider web.
"All jury members have agreed to award the project VAWA - Vertical Agriculture With Architecture, because that's what has best interpreted the spirit of this competition. Derived from a simple element like the tree, it proposes a system of large-scale city branched. A simple object is transformed into a complex architectural structure," said Architect Loris Rossi.
Second prize went to Vertical Fields, a project from the Future Architects team from England, while the third prize went to the Cultivated Carousel, the work of the BGKS team from the United States.
There were also honorable mentions awarded to five other teams, as follows: Studio Synthesis + Red Machine (Project Nature Reclaims Everything), K2P (Breathing Vertical Farm), Ax3 (London City Farm), K ITD DesignLab (Vertical + Horizontal Farm), and Team Tape (London’s Farm Tower).
