Revolutionizing Urban Agriculture: The Vertical + Horizontal Farm Tower

Kevin Chu's Innovative Design for a Self-Sufficient, Eco-Friendly Urban Farm

Chu's design is inspired by various elements, including the structure of locust wings, Japanese Transformer Robots, and aeronautical engineering. The Vertical + Horizontal Farm Tower is not just a farming structure but also an educational and experimental laboratory on agriculture and renewable energy. It aims to make farming appealing to the younger generation, presenting it as a "cool" profession that can deeply benefit the continuous expansion of the city.

The Vertical + Horizontal Farm Tower is designed to be a fully self-sufficient and eco-friendly structure. It incorporates several experimental green energy technologies, such as Solar Helium Balloons, E.T.F.E Transparent Photovoltaic Skin, Laterally Mounted Wind Turbines, and a Plant Covered External Cladding System that absorbs surrounding CO2 emissions. The main structure of the building is designed as residential, commercial, research, and activity spaces, completely clad with Perforated Titanium Tiles that allow for plant growth through its holes.

Each level of the farm is able to rotate to gain maximum exposure to sunlight throughout the day. The E.T.F.E covering above the farm structure closes during colder months, turning each farm into a greenhouse for prolonged crop growth. The crop distribution robots operate via a GPS system, delivering crops to any location around London. Once the process is finished, they fly back to the main farm tower to repeat the process.

The Vertical + Horizontal Farm Tower is more than just a building; it's a dynamic and constantly changing entity in the heart of a bustling metropolis. It's an organism that changes, absorbs, educates, and transforms through time and circumstances. Chu believes it will become the essence of 21st-century agriculture itself and its dynamism will provoke a new generation to embrace farming in a vastly more innovative and accepting attitude.

The design was awarded Platinum in A' Futuristic Design Award in 2012, recognizing its world-class, exceptional, and highly innovative design that showcases unmatched professionalism, genius, and contributes to societal wellbeing. The Vertical + Horizontal Farm Tower is not just a concept but a potential solution to the pressing issue of sustainable urban agriculture, setting the stage for the future of farming in cities.