Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

http://www.news.com.au/technology/swedish-city-begins-construction-of-skyscraper-farm/story-e6frfro0-1226454736443

They almost have it, just need a olympic sizes swimming pool underneath and some Barra and they will be set....

I love these sustainability idea's, the world is nuts for them more so than ever these days. Makes you wonder why they dont spend that $500 million (and running costs etc etc) on actually feeding people in 3rd world countries??

Oh yea, no profit in that..

I don't know, I still don't get those things.. There's enough vacant land in that picture that if you planted up 50% of that vacant land with high intensity growing at ground level you would produce the same amount of food without having to build a giant glass dome with rotating internals.

Why is it that we always assume that a more high tech approach will be a solution to things like food production. The levels of embodied energy going into producing something like that, along with the constant energy costs of having all the internal plant growing areas rotating, are never going to offset the food produced..

+1 EB - nature has had a shipload more time to get it right and work out the best system. Why we always think we can improve on that is beyond me. Hell, we can't even master photosynthesis, yet we think we can improve everything about a plant

Ahm, don't we all have some elaborate system in our backyard that took energy and materials to produce and is still demanding power fed into it every day? It is not a multiple story contraption with rotating whatevers but there are some similarities.

Yes and No, Hoeve.

I have my growbeds to filter the water for my fish, and the plants to strip out the nutrients - thereby replicating what happens naturally. I'm not trying to improve anything.

I still grow a lot of my fruit and veges in the dirt cause it works really well and, in some ways, is better than aquaponics (and in some ways it's not).

AP for me is all about the fish - the veges are the by-product. I realise the logic is the other way around from a commercial perspective, but I'm not trying to be commercial.

I wonder how this skyscraper farm is coming along, I cant seem to find any up to date information. Aparently work started last month.

Wow they must have done the renderings for a rare sunny day in Sweden, looks like it could be Miami:
http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/S ... X0031:1:SW

The concept drawing seems to have a DNA helix type "extensive internal conveyor belt-style system to move potted plants from seeding, growing and harvesting stations"

But how the hell do they actually get the harvested, empty grow space back down to the bottom again...

And even if the desgin allows for that... what 50% of the grow area remains empty until it gets to the bottom????

I don't get it... and I certainly don't get the supposed environmental benefits...

And Hoeve... you guys are the masters of greenhouse design and hydroponic growing... how come in all the long years of dedicated research and development... the Dutch have never seen, or had the foresight.. to develop a model like this...????

Also check out that huge DWC trough that is not being utilized behind the building!

Look at all those trees that could be fruit trees.

Out of about 100 people in the photo only 3 people are using the lawn. That lawn could be growing crops.

Hi EB



Maybe you didn't read the full articel ?
The Greenhouse or Plentagon is being powerd with waste to do that effectively with all the infrastructure to pipe the heat/CO2 you need a compact building for it to be cost effective.
Also the central location makes the produce short traveld
Sweden have plenty of room or space available to grow like you suggest, but it's subarctic climate so a green house and heating, is needed for year around growth

cheers

[quote="Charlie"]I wonder how this skyscraper farm is coming along, I cant seem to find any up to date information. Aparently work started last month.

more resent pic here

http://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/pressroom/ ... ide-174158

more on the plentago urban farming here

http://www.plantagon.com/

PS DD your weather forcast was from Stokholm the greenhouse is eing buildt in Linkøping

cheers

Thanks Soltun

The pic in the link.. is just an artistic conception drawing...

But they did "break ground" ... in February.... http://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/pressroom/ ... den-114754

Things get thought up by whoever they do, when they do, tbh ive been reading the "bamboo raft for dwc" thread and thought the same thing, its so simple, yet there are pages of discussion, sometimes it just takes someone different to come along and think of them, sometimes not even that, people have ideas and simply never go ahead with them.