DESIGN STUDIO: 2017-05-07

an acrylic light diagram

ACRYLIC LIGHT DIAGRAM SANS DETAIL

ACRYLIC LIGHT DIAGRAM WITH DETAIL (UNBUILT)

TITLE: Farm Foundry

TIME FRAME: Tomorrow

HISTORICAL DATE: 1910 - The worst oil spill on land occurs.

ISSUE: The soil has become unusable due to industry

RESOLUTION: A vertical farm utilizing hydroponics

SHIP ACCESS: A hole cut into the structure below allows for marine vessels to sail underneath. This allows for food to be dropped down directly onto the vessel and allow the ship to continue it's journey in an efficient manor.

RECYCLING/GREEN ENERGY: Steel trusses will be recycled and repurposed to build the the farm vertically. Recycled steel will also be melted down and turned into the vertical farm systems. Wind turbines will provide green energy to run the vertical farm. Water desalination tanks will turn the ocean water into viable irrigation water for the plants.

THESIS: This project transforms an oil rig into a food generating machine.

a progress update

CONTEXT

+ Being in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico allows the building to have access to sun in all directions.

+ Can be easily accessed by ship, which is how the majority of our produce is transported.

+ Climate Zone 9 is an ideal climate for growing a full range of produce

+ Gulf winds at 27 mph is ideal for wind turbines. Wind turbines in this location can

provide more than enough energy to power this vertical farm.

STRUCTURE

+ Exterior warren trusses support the floor overhang from structure below

+ Interior vierendeel trusses brace interior building while allowing people to pass through

MATERIAL

+ Recycled steel trusses

+ Glass

+ Concrete

FORM

+ Monolithic

+ Vertically staggered levels to add variety and playfulness

+ Vast central openings allow daylight and air to filter through

SENSATION

+ Seeing rows and rows of beautiful green produce.

+ Smelling the fresh oxygen given off by the plants.

+ Picking a ripe strawberry from one of the vertical farm trays. Feeling the firm, yet bumpy skin in hand.

+ Tasting a juicy ripe strawberry that is ready to be packaged and shipped off.

+ Hearing the ships below being loaded with shipping containers full of fresh produce.

preliminary II

preliminary I

VERTICAL FARM

BRIEF: Who would feel the greatest impact in a post-oil society?

Almost 80% of Africa is fighting starvation and famine. This is due to a variety of reasons, ranging from internal conflicts, crop disease, excessive heat, followed by excessive droughts due to climate changes. Additionally, the west coast of Africa greatly depends on oil for their economy. Without this major source of income, these struggling countries in Africa will need to diversify and come up with new solutions.

In a post-oil society, we would be left with thousands of abandoned oil rigs. These steel structures can easily be re-purposed into efficient vertical farms. This would provide a controlled environment suitable for producing large amounts of food for countries in famine as well as provide another source of economy.

Although the oil rig I have chosen is located in the Gulf of Mexico, it would serve as a valuable prototype in vertical farming. This prototype would eventually be translated into a typology that could be implemented by other abandoned oil rigs.

In respect to cost, the steel trusses would be recycled from other abandoned oil rigs and re-used to develop the vertical farms. The vertical farming systems would consist of melted down recycled steel. The majority of the vertical farm is open to sunlight since glass can be an expensive resource and reduce the amount of sun exposure available for the plants.