It is estimated that the world population will exceed 9.6 billion in 2050, and 66% will live in urban areas. As a city, how to "feed" so many people becomes a problem. Plantagon, a Swedish food technology company, has published an office building called “Plant Building” and plans to build the first such magnificent indoor farm + office in Linköping, Sweden Building.
In the building, all plants are planted by hydroponics (plants that do not use soil, carry only the nutrients needed for plant growth through water, or use materials that support the roots of plants). Hans Hassle, CEO of Plantagon, said that all farmland will also be managed automatically. This project, which will cost US$40 million, has already started initial construction in 2012, and the completion date is expected to be 2020.
The "Plant Building" will produce 550 tons of plants each year, enough for 5,500 residents to eat for one year. In this 16-storey building, each floor is farm on one side and office space on the other. In addition to the office floors occupying two-thirds of the total area of the building, the remaining one-third will be devoted to the construction of a huge indoor farm. The photosynthesis of plants will rely on sunlight and LED light, and the frequency of LED light will also be calibrated to a value that maximizes production. In addition, robots will participate directly in the cultivation of plants to control operating costs.
According to Hans Hassle, CEO of Plantagon, “plant buildings” can produce more crops with less soil and water resources than outdoor farms of the same size. His budget building can save 1,100 tons of CO2 emissions and 13 million gallons of water each year. What is wonderful is that some meeting rooms are directly connected to the farmland. There is also an area for public dining on the ground floor of the building. In addition, the building also has supermarkets that directly sell agricultural products.
Plantagon also submitted another design of the sphere “plant building”. In this design, the spiral plant line was built inside the sphere, which can automatically move the plant from bottom to top. The period is 30 days.
Plantagon also calls on other cities in the world to build this versatile indoor farm. At present, they have negotiated with the United States, Singapore, China Shanghai and Hong Kong. Hassle firmly believes that the city must have its own agricultural production base near the center of the city. “This project shows a set of ways to 'fed' future cities in the absence of water shortages.”