URBAN PLANT Tower Allows Tenants To Grow Food Year-Round

By Amanda Froelich

There are a number of benefits to growing your own food: improved health, reduced food costs, and an elevated mood due to being around living, oxygenating plants. However, few urban dwellers have the space or opportunity to grow nutritious plants year-round, which is why an architecture firm designed a residential concept to fix this conundrum.

D+DS architecture created URBAN PLANT, an innovative apartment building that allows tenants to grow their own food – even during the winter months – using hydroponic technology. The building is designed to be a fully sustainable housing complex.

According to Architizer, the company chose a site located on the East River just north of the Manhattan Bridge for URBAN PLANT. The architects envision the 50-story-tower being a full-cycle sustainable structure that provides a healthy environment for its residents. In addition, they hope that the innovative concept will have a positive impact on the local community and economy, inspiring residents to adopt sustainable habits.

The massive building will include 400 apartments with communal spaces in the middle of the structure. On the roof, a hydroponic winter garden will supply residents with all the leafy greens and vegetables they need during the winter months.

Inhabitat relays that by reducing the building’s carbon footprint by having it generate its own energy, the architects hope to “develop a stronger relationship between man and nature in a dense urban environment.”

The entire building will operate on renewable cycles of energy and water, as well as a fully functional renewable food cycle made possible the hydroponic system. Finally, URBAN PLANT will be equipped with retail space as well as an orchard, ample green space, sport facilities, and bioswales.

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