Tag Archives: Vertical Farms

This LEGO-inspired modular planter upgrades vertical farming for gardening in tiny living spaces!

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In recent years, more people have been trying out gardening and harvesting their own vegetables for cooking and eating. While plenty of planter designs have been created specifically for small living spaces, many of them keep a pretty small size, not allowing for too many plants to grow at the same time. Lorenzo Vega, a designer based in Chile, designed his own interpretation of a modular planter and it leans on a modular structure inspired by LEGO building blocks so the vertical farm can always increase in size if your space allows for it.

Vega’s modular planter was designed to be a solution for vertical farming in small living spaces. Starting with a single modular cube, seeds can be planted and harvested using traditional planting methods, then another module can be positioned on top of the first cube, forming a link for additional planters to be added. Each modular planter comes as a dish with an accompanying cubic case that grants room for the crops and plants to grow and reach their full height. Inspired by the look and durability of Japanese metabolism and Social modernism architecture, Lorenzo Vega conceptualized his vertical farm to be stripped-down and clean by design. The sleek, simple finish of Vega’s modular planter echoes its intuitive usability and modular customization.

Stackable and modular product designs are a Godsend for those of us living in tiny spaces. Taking full advantage of the height in any given room opens the space up to many more interior design possibilities and grants access to hard-to-reach areas of the apartment that would otherwise remain unused. Vega’s modular planter was designed for a small space and that’s where it feels right at home.

Designer: Lorenzo Vega

Identical modules can be stacked on top of one another for vertical farming in tiny living spaces.

A cubic case slides right over the dish planter to allow the crops and plants to reach their full heights.

Additional modules can easily be joined together to form links around preceding cubes.

Notches on the planter lock into place with the sockets on the planter’s frame case.

Vega’s modular planter can be positioned either outdoors or indoors.

Vega took to architecture for inspiration, specifically Japanese metabolic and Social modernist structures.

This indoor vertical farm uses LED lights + plant pods to cultivate more sustainable lifestyles!

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Reaching the midyear point of 2021, it seems clear that a lot of us could benefit from more sustainable lifestyles. More sustainable lifestyle practices, like harvesting our own vegetable garden or using reusable products instead of paper or plastic ones, surely helps the environment at large and it also gives us some more agency over the homes we cultivate. Indoor vertical farming is one approach towards a sustainable lifestyle that more and more people adopt in their everyday lives. In response to the surge in popularity over vertical farming, the Berlin-based design studio, The Subdivision, has visualized its own indoor vertical farming product called Agrilution.

Based on the 3D visualizations developed by the team at The Subdivision, Agrilution operates like most indoor vertical farming products. Nicknamed Plantcube, Agrilution forms the shape of a small refrigerator, containing two sliding shelves that host the crops and soil planters. With interior LED grow lights, the crops inside of Agrilution are nourished with as much mock sunlight as they might need to thrive. In addition to the LED grow lights, Agrilution comes with an app that helps users control the caretaking of their plants.

The app uses smart technology in conjunction with vertical farming techniques by indicating to users when their vertical garden might need more water or soil replenishment. Following today’s smart farming and gardening wave, Agrilution turns farming into an accessible and simpler task for those living in smaller spaces who would still like to develop sustainable lifestyle practices.

Regarding style, Agrilution consists of sleek minimalist and stark black, New Aesthetic design elements. The simple appearance of Agrilution grants it inconspicuous access to most interior living spaces, but its sophisticated black-and-white color scheme gives it a refined touch and flair of elegance. With more and more people adopting eco-friendly lifestyles, products like Agrilution invite sustainability through the front door.

Designer: The Subdivision

Inconspicuous by design, Agrilution can fit into most living spaces to indoor farming is always accessible.

Built with two sliding shelves, Agrilution has enough room to keep plenty of crops for gardening and harvesting.

The glazed glass door of Agrilution allows users to view the progress of their crops at all times.

Interior LED grow lights line the inside of Agrilution to always keep the plants inside nourished with mock sunlight.

Agrilution is built like a mini-fridge with everything from optic white, plastic interiors to a soft-close suctioned front door.

Each sliding shelf of Agrilution is dotted with soil plant cubes that host the seeds for plants and crops.

Comprising the same area that a miniature refrigerator might, Agrilution doesn’t take up too much space.

Connected to an app, users can monitor and take care of their plants all from their smartphone.

This indoor vertical farm relies on hydroponics to grow crops anywhere during any season!

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Since 2013, the Green Concept Award has functioned as a platform for networking and been awarded to designers who have made globally sustainable and innovative products. The awards recognize products already on the market or in their conceptual stages that stand out for their design, innovation, and commitment to sustainability. Each year, the Green Concept Award jury members finalize a pre-selection list before awarding the winning product with the year’s title. One of the products on 2021’s pre-selection list is Farmhouse, a hydroponic vertical farm conceptualized by designers at Kingston University’s School of Art.

Hydroponic vertical farming is a form of farming that ditches the need for soil, substituting in different root-supporting materials like peat moss or Rockwool, allowing plants to grow in nutrient-rich water. The five-tiered Farmhouse is stocked with trays that contain all the materials necessary for optimal hydro-plant growth, like filtered, nutrient-infused water, oxygen, and root support.

Additionally, the vertical farm comes equipped with bright lights, either LEDs or HIDs, to replace the natural sunlight outdoors so that each plant can receive special lighting according to its own Daily Light Integral (DLI). Hydroponics is a sustainable farming practice for many reasons, but a significant one might be that by tending to a hydroponic farm, like Farmhouse, crops can be grown anywhere, during any time of the year.

The food we eat on a day-to-day basis travels about 1,500 miles before reaching our plate. While picking produce up at the supermarket seems simple, a lot of pollution takes place behind the scenes, all before hitting the shelves. Delivering produce to grocery stores across the globe requires lots of plastic packaging and plenty more fuel for transportation, increasing levels of microplastic and air pollution in the process. The designers behind Farmhouse aim to cut those unsustainable practices by designing a hydroponic farming solution that can be used in any home, during any season.

Designer: Kingston University (Kingston School of Art)

The five shelves of the Farmhouse contain all the necessary materials required for hydroponic farming.

Outfitted with shelves, Farmhouse grows crops using metal trays that guide the plant’s direction of growth.

A water system, filter, and root-support material all work together to help produce crops through hydroponics.

Without the convenience of natural sunlight, hydroponic farming relies on LEDs and HIDs to feed crops with light.

Thanks to a ribbed glass pane and warm color scheme, Farmhouse can fit into any room.

Coming in denim blue, moss green, rose pink, scarlet red, and blonde yellow – the Farmhouse also comes with a simple frame and intuitive build.

A raised top shelf feeds the plants inside the Farmhouse with plenty of airflow and oxygen.

Norse mythology comes to life in these modular vertical farms!

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Agriculture is the backbone of our society, it sustains and feeds us. But, it can be water-intensive and does demand a lot of substantial land area. 37% of Earth’s surface is used for farming, and this percentage is expected to steadily increase. And with the world’s population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, there isn’t going to be much space to spare. In such a critical time, modern and clever solutions are needed to combat such an issue. And one such example is Framlab’s recently launched project Glasir, targeted especially for Brooklyn, New York. Throughout the years, Brooklyn has seen impressive economic growth, however, food or nutritional inequality has always been a deep-rooted issue. In an attempt to deal with this first hand, Framlab put into motion Glasir. Meaning gleaming, Glasir was an exquisite tree found in Norse mythology. Framlab’s Glasir is a system of modular vertical farms, based on AI technology, that aims to provide easy access to fresh greens and other produce.

Designer: Framlab

Stacked one on top of the other, and similar to greenhouses, the Glasir structures will be completely modular, placed in different sections of Brooklyn within an area of four square feet. They will consist of three types of modules, Growth Modules, Production Modules, and Access Modules.

The produce would be grown in the Production Modules. Aeroponics, which basically cultivates plants using mist rather than soil, would be adopted to grow the crops. An irrigation system consisting of an aeroponic tray, feeder lines, and mist nozzles would water the plants consistently. The Growth Module comprises of various elements that function as the trunks, feeders, and branches. Whereas the Access Modules provide paths and platforms, allowing people to move about within the Glasir farms.

The AI tech supported by environmental sensors would evaluate the environmental conditions, and adapt to maintain the optimized growth conditions for the vegetables. Glasir is not only a form of agriculture, but it is the agriculture of the future. It aims to transform a tree’s adaptable growth process into a more dynamic and heightened one, allowing for a new type of urban farming that perfectly meets our modern needs.

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