Food Forests

Newsaeration, affordable, Agroforestry, AK, Alabama, Alaska, aquascape, AR, arboriculture, architect, Architects, architecture, Arizona, Arkansas, ask, AZ, back to the office, backyard, BaumDesign, BEST, BEST VALUE, biodiversity, biophilia, biophilic, botany, Building, Building Design, built environment, CA, California, campus design, carbon, CEA, city survey, civil engineering, climate, climate change, climate friendly, climate resilience, climate. action, CO, colorado, commercial, commercial architect, Commercial Office Building design, Commercial Office Building Developers, commercial real estate, Communities for Everyone, compost, conceptual design, Connecticut, construction, Consulting, consulting firm, contemporary, contractors, controlled environment agriculture, Corporate Campuses, creating a better world, creative, Critical Facilities, CT, culture, data collection, DE, deal, deck, Delaware, denver, Design, design careers, design development, design firm, Design Research, design resilience, designer, Designers, developer, Development, diversity, dryland farming, Ecology, economically viable, ecoscape, ecosystem, edible gardens, education design, efficient irrigation, energy efficient, entertainment design, environment, environmental consulting, environmental design, environmental rehabilitation, environmental responsibility, environmental restoration, environmentalism, equitable design, equitable future, ESG, estate landscape, fauna, FL, flora, Florida, flowers, foliage, food forest, foodscaping, forest garden, forestry, formal gardens, frontyard, future of cities, future of workplace, GA, garden, garden design, garden soil, gardening clubs, gathering space, geography, Georgia, Graphic Design, graphic rendering, green infrastructure, green roofs, greenery, greenspaces, greenways, habitat, hard landscape, hardscape, Hawaii, Headquarters, healthcare design, herb, herb garden, HI, historic garden, historical landscape, horticulture, Hospitality design, Hotel design, how to start a, hybrid future, IA, ID, Idaho, IL, Illinois, IN, Indiana, indoor, indoor landscape, industrial design, infrastructure Design, innovative designs, Interior Design, interior plant design, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, KS, KY, LA, land use, LANDSCAPE, landscape archaeology, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, landscape architecture firm, LANDSCAPE DESIGN, landscape detailing, landscape ecology, landscape engineering, landscape painting, landscape urbanism, Louisiana, low maintenance, MA, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Master Planning, MD, ME, MI, Michigan, minimal maintenance, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Mixed Use, MN, MO, modern, Montana, MS, MT, mulch, mulching, native gardens, native plant, natural landscaping, natural rainfall, nature, nature based solutions, nature preserves, naturescaping, NC, ND, NE, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, new york, new york city, new york state, newyork, NH, NJ, NM, North Carolina, North Dakota, North East, North Eastern, northeast, NV, ny, nyc, Office Building architect, Office Buildings, office design, OH, Ohio, OK, Oklahoma, OR, Oregon, organic, organic lawn management, oriental gardens, outdoor, Outdoor Design, outdoor fireplaces, outdoor lighting design, OUTDOOR SPACE, OUTDOOR SPACES, PA, park, parks, patios, Pennsylvania, permaculture, plant Design, planting, planting design, ponds, pool design, power of design, Product Design, Professional Services, quorra, rainwater harvesting, REAL ESTATE, recreation, reddit, reforestation, regional Planning, residence landscape, residential, Residential. design, Retail Centers, Retail design, return to work, Rhode Island, RI, rules, rural, SC, SD, sequestration, shrubs, site analysis, site planning, smart cities, soft landscape, softscape, soil science, South Carolina, South Dakota, southern tier, stone, Strategy, suburban, survey, surveying, sustainability, Sustainable design, sustainable farming, sustainable landscaping, sustainable living, Tannenbaum architecture, Tannenbaum Design Group, Tbaum design, tech workplace, technologies, Tennessee, terraforming, terrain, Texas, TN, Top, topography, topsoil, transportation structure, trees, TX, upstate, Urban Design, Urban Planning, urbanity, UT, Utah, VA, vegetable, vegetable garden, Vermont, Virginia, VT, WA, walkways, Washington, water conscious, water conserving, water-wise, waterfronts, weeding, West Virginia, what are, WI, wildlife garden, Wisconsin, Workplace Amenity, workplace design, workplace planning, workplace research, workplace strategy, WV, WY, Wyoming AL, xeric, xeriscape, xeriscaping, zero waste, zeroscaping

Food Forests

In response to the unsustainable practices and negative externalities of the modern industrial monocrop agriculture complex, there has been growing interest in permaculture and food forests as a sustainable way to produce food. Permaculture is a philosophy and set of practices that aims to create regenerative ecosystems that are self-sufficient and promote biodiversity. Food forests, also known as forest gardens, are an example of a permaculture design that mimics the structure and function of a natural forest ecosystem.

So, what exactly is a food forest? Essentially, it is a type of agroforestry system that combines fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, and perennial vegetables to create a diverse, low-maintenance food production system. The idea is to mimic the layers of a natural forest, with a canopy layer of tall trees, an understory layer of shorter trees and shrubs, a herbaceous layer of groundcovers and herbaceous plants, and a root layer of bulbs, tubers, and other perennial vegetables.

The goal of a food forest is not just to produce food, but to create a self-sustaining ecosystem that benefits both humans and the environment. By using permaculture principles like companion planting, nutrient cycling, and species symbiosis, a food forest can increase productivity and resilience while reducing the need for external inputs like pesticides and fertilizers.

One key aspect of food forests is the use of species symbiosis, or the interdependent relationships between different species in an ecosystem. In a food forest, each plant plays a specific role in the ecosystem, whether it is fixing nitrogen, providing shade, attracting pollinators, or repelling pests. By selecting plants that complement each other and create mutually beneficial relationships, a food forest can become a thriving, diverse ecosystem that supports a wide range of species.

Another key principle of permaculture and food forests is the idea of “stacking functions.” In other words, each element in the ecosystem should serve multiple functions to maximize productivity and efficiency. For example, a fruit tree can provide shade for an understory crop like berries, while also producing food and providing habitat for birds and insects. These species may act as predators to crop destroying pests.

Here are a few examples different species relationships that can be used in a permaculture food forest:

Nitrogen-Fixing Plants and Fruit Trees: Nitrogen-fixing plants like legumes capture nitrogen from the air and convert it into a form that other plants can use. By planting nitrogen-fixing plants in and around fruit trees, the trees can benefit from this natural source of fertilizer. In return, the trees can provide shade and support for the legumes, creating a mutually beneficial relationship.

Pollinator Plants and Fruit Trees: Most fruit trees require pollinators to produce fruit. By planting a diverse mix of pollinator-friendly plants like clover, borage, and comfrey around fruit trees, the food forest can attract bees and other beneficial insects that will help pollinate the trees. At the same time, these plants can provide habitat and food for a wide range of other beneficial insects and birds.

Pest-Repelling Plants and Companion Plants: Some plants have natural pest-repelling properties that can help protect other plants in the food forest. For example, marigolds are known to repel pests like nematodes, while garlic and onions can help repel pests like aphids and spider mites. By planting these plants in and around other plants that are susceptible to pests, the food forest can reduce the need for synthetic pesticides.

Groundcover Plants and Trees: Groundcover Plants: Strawberries, clover, and mint can help prevent soil erosion and retain moisture in the soil. By planting these plants around fruit trees and other tall plants, the food forest can create a natural mulch layer that will help retain water and nutrients in the soil. At the same time, the groundcover plants can provide food and habitat for a range of beneficial insects.

Food forests are also designed to be low-maintenance and require minimal inputs once established. By using perennial plants that come back year after year, a food forest can reduce the need for tillage and other soil-disturbing practices that can damage the ecosystem. And by mimicking the structure of a natural forest, a food forest can take advantage of natural processes like nutrient cycling and water retention.

Food forests are a promising example of how permaculture principles can be applied to agriculture to create sustainable, diverse ecosystems that benefit both humans and the environment. By using species symbiosis, stacking functions, and other permaculture techniques, food forests can increase productivity and resilience while reducing the need for external inputs and minimizing negative impacts on the environment. As we continue to face growing challenges in food production, food forests offer a promising alternative that can help us build a more sustainable future.

If you are interested in developing a food forest on your property, call Tannenbaum Design Group today and let’s start planning your garden and dinner table today!

References:

Jacke, D., & Toensmeier, E. (2008). Edible forest gardens. Chelsea Green.

Tannenbaum Design Group | Landscape Architecture and Outdoor Design | Food Forests

Date: Feb 15, 2023

AUTHOR: tbaumdesign

Controlled Environment Agriculture

Newsaeroponics, aquaculture, aquaponics, bees, biophillia, botany, CEA, CEA architecture, controlled environment agriculture, Development, Ecology, efficiency, environmentalism, fertilizer, food, fruit, greenhouse, horticulture, hydroponics, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE DESIGN, organic, parasitism, pesticide-free, produce, REAL ESTATE, regenerative, REIT, remediation, renewable, sustainability, symbiosis, urban farm, vegetables, vertical farm, water, xeriscape, yield

Controlled Environment Agriculture

Background

“Like extracting bread from air.” In 1908, Fritz Haber’s invention of synthesized fertilizer revolutionized the agriculture industry. Through a process of extracting ammonia for fertilizer use from the air, annual global crop yields doubled overnight. His invention is credited with our ability today to feed billions of people. But new problems are catching up to us.

Here in the United States, we are extremely reliant on international imports to meet our produce needs. Coupled with the challenges of affordability and accessibility of labor, much of the country is also incapable of producing outside for the colder half of the year. Specifically, as of 2020, 53% of all the fresh fruit and 32% of all the fresh vegetables consumed in this country are imported.[i] Comparatively, increasingly unpredictable weather patterns are only making the challenges of conventional domestic farming more difficult. Globally, we are still struggling to meet demand for produce. In fact, a 2015 World Health Organization study found that only 36% of the global population has adequate availability of fruits and vegetables to meet minimum nutrition targets.[ii]

Controlled Environment Agriculture

Fortunately, a new wave of technology categorized as controlled environment agriculture (CEA) has the potential to revolutionize America’s food production system once again and help alleviate the greater global deficit of high quality, affordable produce. CEA is proven to increase yields per acre by a magnitude of over 10 times that of conventional agriculture through curation of year-round, ideal conditions and symbiotic micro-ecosystems.[iii] Conventionally, these facilities use hydroponic, aeroponic and aquaponic systems to grow vegetables without soil. This technology allows growers to use exponentially less water and fertilizer than conventional field agriculture. With new innovations in digital monitoring, robotic harvesting, and automated sorting and packaging, the challenges of finding labor are also alleviated. Equally important, CEA avoids the externalities of environmental degradation, systemic in conventional agriculture.

Through CEA we are able to produce higher quality crops without damaging the ecosystem. The controlled environment facilitates the elimination of toxic chemicals in exchange for biological pesticides (predators for parasites). Additionally, as facilities move closer to market in response to demand for local produce and rising shipping prices, breeding programs are able to pivot away from a focus on shelf life (for long-haul shipping) towards flavor, texture, and nutritional value. Changes in consumer demand for healthier local food is creating growing demand for CEA and ultimately opportunities for investment in the asset class.

Overview

Over the last century, conventional industrial farming has had catastrophic effects on the environment. Chemical pesticide use has decimated insect pollinator populations. Monoculture farming, erosion from tilling, herbicides, and fungicides have polluted, depleted, and sterilized our soils. Excessive fertilizing has polluted our water. It is not an exaggeration to say that the choices we make today will have cascading effects for centuries. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 33% of the world’s soil is moderately to highly degraded through erosion, salinization, compaction, acidification, chemical pollution and nutrient depletion.

These degradations hamper the soils’ ecological functionality affecting its food production capabilities.[iv] Insect populations have also declined by 75% over the past three decades, largely due to agricultural practices, hampering natural breeding and fruiting processes.[v] The cataclysmic loss of biodiversity is reaching a breaking point that will not be easy to reverse. Therefore, it is critical that we reinvent the way in which we produce our food. Controlled environmental agriculture addresses all of these environmental concerns by creating a closed loop system.

Structure

CEA can be classified into three main structures: high tunnels, greenhouses and plant factories. Each has their own benefits and limitations.

High Tunnels are the least expensive and most common solution in the market today. At as low as $3 per square foot in construction cost, they require very little capital to get started. While they are a great improvement over conventional agriculture, they have a short life span, are very susceptible to environmental damages, are less light and heat efficient, and are uninsurable.

Greenhouses average $35 per square foot at commercial scale and are the most energy efficient form of CEA.

Indoor Plant Factories — typically what people think of when they think of vertical farming — are highly variable in price (generally between $100 and $200 per square foot for new construction), but can essentially be established in any reclaimed building or container. They are very high in climate control efficiency and yields per acre possible (by growing vertically) but are more limited in what crops they can grow efficiently. (Some crops demand more light than the LEDs can provide.) Plant factories also require extreme electricity consumption. For example, lettuce crops grown by CEA consume upwards of 350kWh per square foot per year compared to a typical greenhouse’s 25kWh per square foot.

Choosing the Right Asset Type

The costliest aspect of running any CEA facility is electricity consumption. Not accounting for transportation or increased quality’s value proposition, electricity consumption is the biggest barrier today to achieving production cost parity with conventional agriculture. The key to understanding which structure type is optimal for a given location is through understanding the supplemental lighting efficiency, the cost of electricity, and local conditions. Consider this: In New York state, at current electricity prices, even if LED technology was perfected to translate 100% of input energy to light, a greenhouse’s use of the sun and supplemental light, instead of 100% artificial lighting, is still more efficient than the benefits of a plant factory’s more insulative qualities.

For this reason, choosing the right asset type to invest in for a given location is critical. Are you near the Arctic Circle where natural sunlight is very limited for half the year and temperature lows are extreme? Then a plant factory is likely the correct option. Are you in a generally mild climate state with high electricity costs? Then a greenhouse may be right for you.

ESG considerations

CEA is a better impact solution than many other popular alternatives. It is often carbon negative. It requires limited use of rare earth metal materials whose mining undermines the true environmental values of many energy oriented ESGs. CEA very poignantly addresses the problems of biodiversity and habitat loss. Additionally, it decreases agricultural water usage by over 95% and fertilizer usage by 60%. It dramatically reduces the waste of shipping. And socially, it has the potential to solve global food crises.

Opportunity

As of today, investment in CEA has reached just over $2 billion across North America and Europe. The compound annual growth rate for the North American vegetable greenhouse market since 2007 is greater than 20%. In a $20 billion market, crops from CEA facilities only account for 1.3% of the annual produce consumed in the US. With total food demand expected to increase between 59% to 98% by 2050, CEA’s growth potential is exponential.[vi] Moreover, this does not even account for the opportunity of increased produce demand facilitated by improved accessibility; research shows an increase of up to 32% in produce consumption for each additional supermarket in a census tract.[vii]

The barrier for some, and therefore the opportunity, is that these facilities require high upfront costs. In addition to the structures themselves, the intricate hydroponic irrigation systems, robotic equipment and sensory equipment can carry a large price tag. As a plethora of start-up companies race to compete and establish market dominance, they are hungry for capital. As such, many forego ownership of their facilities, instead focusing on their core expertise and leveraging capital towards opening more facilities.

Investing

Several developers and investors are capitalizing on this opportunity in a number of ways. The most common is a sale-leaseback. As examples: Equilibrium Capital acquired and leased two greenhouse facilities to indoor agriculture company Revel Green for $11.3 million and plans to finance at least three more greenhouse facilities. Another firm, Green Acreage provides sale-leaseback and construction financing to companies operating in the cannabis industry. Green Acreage invested $77.3 million with Acreage Holdings that entered into long-term, triple-net lease agreements with Green Acreage for properties in California. Other players in the market executing similar strategies include Power REIT, which owns six CEA properties in southern Colorado and Maine with a total of approximately 131,000 square feet of greenhouse and processing space; and Innovative Industrial Properties who focuses on the acquisition, disposition, construction, development and management of CEA facilities across the country.

To better understand the lucrativeness of the opportunity, Innovative Industrial Properties states that their typical absolute net lease terms are 10 to 20 years with base rents at 10% to 16% of total investment and 3% to 4.5% annual rent escalations. Typical deals range from $5 million to $30 million and carry security deposits and corporate guarantees. This compares quite favorably to conventional farmland sale-leasebacks that often have 5-year terms and net around 5% of the purchase price as base rent and escalate 7.5% to 12.5% every term.

Other Opportunities

Other growers have opted for mixed-use facilities where they can rent roof top greenhouse space. This allows growers to be in deep urban locations and virtually eliminate shipping expenses. For example, Gotham Greens recently purchased and built a 15,000 square foot greenhouse on a vacant Brooklyn rooftop. Others have chosen to take the concept directly to the literal market. BrightFarms has, to date, signed up eight supermarket chains around the country (including three of the largest national chains) to build these rooftop farms for about $2 million per acre. The facilities are expected generate $1 million to $1.5 million in annual revenue.

International investment continues to be an important funding source for controlled environment agriculture as countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE look to establish sustainable domestic food systems through the furtherance of the technology. Correspondingly, many CEA growers have gotten their start through partnerships with sovereign wealth funds.

The opportunity is clear; how real estate investors choose to enter the space is up for debate. Funded by $82 million from Equilibrium Capital, AppHarvest, a 3-year-old start-up, has purchased 366 acres in eastern Kentucky with the goal of leveraging economies of scale. With plans to develop a 2.76-million-square-foot greenhouse for $97 million, AppHarvest will be one of the largest greenhouses in the world, supplying much of the Eastern seaboard within one day’s drive.

Conclusion

Although CEA has existed for the past decade, technological development and botanical research have greatly reduced the risk and challenges of the business. Digital monitoring and control technologies have simplified running a controlled environment agriculture facility. Concurrently, consumer demand for high quality organics has risen dramatically, creating a bigger market.

As we stand today, the climate crisis has reached boiling point and habitat degradation has pushed biodiversity to the brink. CEA stands as a profitable, sustainable, lower-risk alternative to conventional agriculture, whose biggest challenge is simply the upfront costs of developing the facilities.

Fresh Alternative Farms:

If you are interested in starting a controlled environment agriculture facility of your own, send us a message and check out our partner organization: FreshAF

Citations

[i] Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “FDA Strategy for the Safety of Imported Food.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, www.fda.gov/food/importing-food-products-united-states/fda-strategy-safety-imported-food.

[ii] FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020: Transforming food systems for affordable healthy diets, 2020. https://www.unicef.org/reports/state-of-food-security-and-nutrition-2020

[iii] GL Barbosa, FD Gadelha, N Kublik, et al., Comparison of Land, Water, and Energy Requirements of Lettuce Grown Using Hydroponic vs. Conventional Agricultural Methods, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2015, 12(6), 6879-6891. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120606879

[iv] FAO, Polluting Our Soils Is Polluting Our Future, May 2, 2018. www.fao.org/fao-stories/article/en/c/1126974/.

[v] Euan McKirdy, New Study Suggests Insect Populations Have Declined by 75% over 3 Decades, CNN, October 20, 2017. www.cnn.com/2017/10/19/europe/insect-decline-germany/index.html.

[vi] Maarten Elferink and Florian Schierhorn, Global Demand for Food Is Rising. Can We Meet It?, Harvard Business Review, April 26, 2019. hbr.org/2016/04/global-demand-for-food-is-rising-can-we-meet-it.

[vii] “Growing Beyond the Hype: Controlled Environment Agriculture.” S2G Ventures, www.s2gventures.com/reports/growing-beyond-the-hype%3A–controlled-environment-agriculture.

Tannenbaum Design Group | Landscape Architecture and Outdoor Design | Controlled Environment Agriculture

Date: Jun 3, 2021

AUTHOR: tbaumdesign

Comments: 1

Iberia Study – Xeriscaping and Permaculture

Newsagriculture, farm, hardscape, home garden, home gardening, home orchard, iberia, LANDSCAPE, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE DESIGN, masterplan, monoculture, organic, permaculture, portugal, ranch, spain, sustainability, sustainable, urban farm, urban farming, vegetable garden, water efficient, water-wise, xeriscape, xeriscaping, xeroscape

Xeriscaping

The term “xeriscaping” defines the process of designing landscapes for water-efficiency. The term was first coined in Colorado in 1981, but has existed throughout cultures for many centuries. Xeriscaping is achieved through the practice of designing with 5 basic principles:

Minimization of high water demanding ground covers, i.e. lawn areas (using turf only when it provides function)
Efficient irrigation techniques
Protection and improvement of planting soils
Suitable plant species selection for the specific environment (natives and naturalized species)
Continual maintenance to reduce water requirements over time

Although the term was first used here, the concept has been implemented throughout the world. Historically Iberians, (i.e. modern day Spain and Portugal) before modern irrigation techniques were very innovative in this field, cultivating fame for their agricultural innovations in dry climates. (As a nifty side fact, this agricultural skill set is the reason the small nation of Bermuda has such vibrant Portuguese subculture today, as they immigrated thousands of Portuguese farmers during the American revolution because they feared an American embargo and needed help becoming agricultural self sufficient.)

Upon arriving in these countries it is clear that there is an embracement of the demands of the environment. There is an acceptance of the existing climate and an adaptation to the natural environment is made rather than fighting the elements at high expense. From this acceptance arises a unique aesthetic that we here can learn from as we move towards sustainable design as a country. A way of rethinking not just our landscape choices but our use of art, hardscape and architecture to match the existing environment rather than battling the natural setting.

Permaculture

Permaculture, as it applies to the landscape, is an attempt to mimic symbiotic relationships found in nature in the practice of agriculture, in order to create self-sufficiency and sustainability. America remains one of the highest consumers of energy, largest producers of waste, and most excessive consumers of artificial fertilizers.

In Iberia, as the colonial empires fell apart, the Spanish, and more extremely the Portuguese, became very poor. Much like many countries that have gone through financial hardships, land became abandoned throughout the major cities, currencies fell apart, and families began to need a means to lower expenses. Through this combination of events, these cultures reverted to the historic practice of self sufficiency in micro farms. All throughout these cities today you will find brilliant little farms using found materials to grow crops in abandoned lots. Because these are personal farms, unlike American mega farms, they lack major irrigation, industrial fertilizers, and monoculture production. Instead, they mix crops and use the symbiotic relationships of the plants to sustain each other, have crop productions all season long, and keep water requirements lower.

In the United States, this has already become a major planning innovation in Detroit as it begins to recover from economic hardship. Entire city blocks have begun to transform into functioning urban farms. Even in areas that may not have the economic hardships, we can still see the value in the environmental sustainability these practices hold.

By reducing the need to transport crops over great distances we can reduce the environmental destruction of the energy usage, but it is more than that. When designed with aesthetic intention, we can turn what would be a landscape that just consumes time, money and water into beautiful, consumable resources that actually save you the owner money at the grocery store.

Date: Aug 25, 2017

AUTHOR: tbaumdesign

Comments: 1

Central Europe Study – Sustainable Communities, Recycling, & Reclamation

NewsBEST VALUE, denver, Design Value, envionmentalism, Green roof, green space, home value, impervios, industrial, industrial reclamation, LANDSCAPE, LANDSCAPE DESIGN, Landscape Value, LANDSCAPING, masterplanning, new, new construction, organic, OUTDOOR SPACES, permaculture, priceless, property enhancement, REAL ESTATE, recycling, renovation, storm water, sustainability, sustainable, Sustainable design, Urban Design, Urban Planning, value, water quality

Post World Wars Central Europe might not have a lot a lot of positives you can say were taken away from the devastation of war. However, when everything is bombed to rubble you certainly have a clean slate to start over from when it comes to design. Many cities like Frankfurt, Bonn, and Berlin that suffered the highest amount of city destruction took the opportunity to rise from the literal ashes with a new era of urban design and architecture.

In Frankfurt, for instance, over 50% of the infrastructure was destroyed by 1945. Today, 52 percent of the city area is green space, consisting of parks, woodland, farmland, orchard meadows, grassland, allotments and hobby gardens, cemeteries, roadside grass verges and bodies of water. And as of 2019, Frankfurt has been ranked the most sustainable in the world.

Sustainable communities can arise naturally over time as well, through the reclamation and re-purposing of infrastructure. When a large industrial site or landfill, that used to be on the outskirts of town, finds itself decommissioned and eventually absorbed into the growing city, it can present a multitude of challenges (i.e. contaminated soils, eye sores, wasted space, etc). Europe’s ancient cities can serve as great examples of how to cope and even benefit from these challenges.

For industrial sites, Landschaftspark in Duisburg, Germany is a patent example of how a derelict site can be reclaimed without disturbing the polluted soils through deconstruction and wasting materials and energy in mass deconstruction. Through this they achieve the addition benefit of preserving a bit of history. Landschaftspark was transformed from a disused old industrial ironworks into facilities with multiple uses into a one of a kind park space. The huge buildings of the former ironworks have been modified to provide patrons with a multitude of new functions such as alpine climbing gardens created in ore storage bunkers and a viewing tower made from a decommissioned blast furnace. Landschaftspark represents how an area can celebrate its industrial past by integrating vegetation and industry, promoting sustainable development and maintaining the spirit of the site without morning it as an eyesore.

Metabolon in Bickenbach, Germany serves as an interesting example of landfill reuse. Metabolon is a multi-purpose site built upon a decommissioned landfill. The site today takes advantage of the artificial topography to serve as serves as a lookout point, bike track, public park, playground, and research center and more. Converting waste to energy is the most significant goal in the research center. What was a disaster for the town has become an attraction and public benefit.

The benefits of recycling and reclaiming are shared among citizens, tourists, developers, customers, and the environment alike. Firstly, an industrial reclamation project produces ecological benefits to the environment and its inhabitants through the growth of plant materials that harbor ecology that break down pollutants in the soils and filter water runoff. Secondly, by transforming dilapidated space into functional and aesthetic pieces, a city brings economic revitalization to the surrounding area. And thirdly, when site is transformed into a useful and attractive space the area becomes more attractive to potential businesses and tourists.

This mindset of design applies to projects large and small. When we think about renovating our residential spaces we have two options. Tear everything out and start anew, or integrate and recycle. Many people in the industry will take the easy road- remove it all and put in new. I urge more of you to consider the value in preserving and recycling the old. Keep more structures out of the landfill. Integrate those priceless 30 year old shrubs into the plans if you can with a nice pruning. Reuse materials where you can. New is not always better, it’s just cleaner for a few years.

Date: Mar 28, 2016

AUTHOR: tbaumdesign

Comments: 1

Posts Tagged "organic"

Food Forests

Food Forests

References:

Controlled Environment Agriculture

Controlled Environment Agriculture

Background

Controlled Environment Agriculture

Overview

Structure

Choosing the Right Asset Type

ESG considerations

Opportunity

Investing

Other Opportunities

Conclusion

Fresh Alternative Farms:

Citations

Iberia Study – Xeriscaping and Permaculture

Xeriscaping

Permaculture

Central Europe Study – Sustainable Communities, Recycling, & Reclamation