Taking sustainable farming vertical

In May, the Association for Vertical Farming (AVF) completed a successful, and first ever, international Vertical Farming Innovation Award, sponsored by Illuminex and powered by Thought For Food. The #AVFaward brought in 100 design concepts from 25 countries, leading to one submission winning the US$5,000 Innovation Prize for Vertical Farming 2016.

That fortunate team was Inter-Farm-Market, hailing from Malaysia, which proposed a new way of thinking about architecture for public spaces and how they connect with our food system. Their vision for new community facilities was designed to feature vertical farms that supply a fresh produce market and is complete with support from office spaces, retail shops, and a training center.

The Inter-Farm-Market design utilizes different growing environments such as the roof, interior, and basements, lending itself the capacity to grow a variety of produce with a 230-percent increase in productivity. From salad greens to mushrooms, strawberries to ginger, and many more produce varieties to come, one-stop shopping for exclusively local produce is almost here.

Read more at FoodTank