Power Plant
A self-powering urban greenhouse uses transparent solar glass, to grow food in places with poor soil quality. Bringing the future of farming into our cities.
The world’s population is growing, and so is the demand for food production. How can we feed the world’s increasing population sustainably and ecologically? Every hour we receive enough sunlight to provide the world with enough electricity for an entire year.
Through transparent solar glass this design powers its indoor climate; harvesting both food and electricity to grow the plants of the future. Power Plant enables us to grow food all year round, in places where this wasn’t possible before such as rooftops or in places without access to electricity. It combines traditional farming, which uses sunlight as a free resource, and new botanical technologies.
By growing vertically, the Power Plant can increase the yield per square metre up to ten times. The solar glass powers a hydroponic system, which pumps around nutrient water, saving up to 90% of water usage compared to traditional soil farming. In addition to sunlight, coloured LED lights enhance plant growth, increasing the yield by up to four times.
Power Plant demonstrates that botanical tech can be embedded in the urban environment to educate people to bring the future of farming into our cities.
Exhibited at Vitra Design Museum, Design Museum
Helsinki, Vandalorum Museum Sweden 2024, London Biennial 2018, Het Nieuwe Instituut
Developed with Emma Elston, Peter Krige and Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodriques
Photography by Britt Berden, Emma Elston
Video by Kim Taylor
Thanks to Het Nieuwe Instituut, What Design Can Do
