This vertical farm is completely self-sustaining

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This article was first published in the October 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online. 

This 85m² public structure in Japan uses the light, air and water of its surroundings to grow local produce, from adzuki beans to watermelons. The project, a collaboration between graduate students from UC Berkeley and Japanese architecture firm Kengo Kuma, brings West-Coast style to Hokkaido. "Where the architectural approach comes from is not important if it can reduce the environmental cost," says team leader Hsiu Wei Chang.

The building - known as Nest We Grow - is built around nine composite columns, each made up of four 15cm x 15cm larch sections, connected by steel plates and pins. This mimics heavy timber construction techniques common in the US, but uses local materials. Increased light and heat towards the upper floors creates ideal growing conditions regardless of the season - so the third and fourth levels are filled with planter boxes. Other produce can be hung out to store and dry. Corrugated plastic walls trap the heat of the Sun in the cooler months, but can be opened for ventilation. Rainwater is captured by the funnel roof; a kitchen, log oven and composting area enables vertical farmers to harvest, cook, eat and recycle the food in the same space they grow it.

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At the building's heart is a traditional Japanese tea area for socialising among the crops. Plants even grow from the tearoom floor, and hemp ropes will be installed along the outer frame. "We imagine beanstalks growing up the rope to form a green wall," Chang says. Looks like we've also outgrown the need for interior designers. 

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1. Sliding plastic panels
   The façade and roof are made of translucent corrugated plastic sheets that allow natural light in for the plants, and also hold in heat during winter. In the summer, panels in the walls and roof open up, to facilitate movement of air. 
2. Multi-use ground floor 
   The structure sits on a concrete, adobe-brick and packed-earth base, containing a multi-level facility. Within it are a food preparation area, a dining area and access to composting bins. 
3. Composite wood columns
   By using "moment" connections, the beams sit in niches in the columns, secured by steel pins. This locks the top and bottom flanges of the beam, making for a highly rigid structure.

By: Sophia Epstein,

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