William Mungall shares a recent report on a new design for urban architecture called the Urban Skyfarm. It can hold more fruit trees than an urban park and can provide 24 acres of farmland.

1. The Future of Sustainable Architecture
by William Mungall

2. Population Growth & Rapid Urbanization
As the world’s population continues to skyrocket (total
population jumped from ~1 billion in 1804 to over 7
billion today), space will remain at a premium. The
combination of less space for expansion and the new
challenges presented by cities’ having to support larger
populations will require us to find new and innovative
ways to improve the functionality of our buildings.

3. Population Growth & Rapid Urbanization
Not only will we need to maximize the space inside
the buildings and reduce their impact on the
environment, but now is the time to start thinking
about how these buildings can both serve its
tenants and the surrounding community.

4. Solutions in Architecture
There have been major and
exciting developments in
sustainable architecture over the
last twenty years. The idea that a
building could not only be
aesthetically pleasing, but also
have a positive environmental
footprint is particularly appealing
in a world where we regularly
hear about potential
environmental disasters resulting
from climate change.

5. An interesting idea for “sustainable architecture” is
that of vertical farms, where, instead of floor after
floor of offices in a building, you would have tiers of
greenery that would synthesize elements of
agriculture, architecture, and sustainability to create
high-efficiency farms that take up vertical space
rather than acres of ground-level space. According
to a recent report in Fast Company, this is exactly
what is pursued by Aprilli Design Studio, a U.S.-
based design atelier, in their Urban Skyfarm project.
Solutions in Architecture

6. Urban Skyfarm
Their proposed structure
would be a complete, self-
sustaining ecosystem,
complete with wind turbines,
hydroponic farming systems,
solar panels, a natural
rainwater filtration system.
The structure would be built
using lightweight decks and
could host more trees than
an urban park.

7. The Takeaway
According to architects Steve Lee and See Yoon Park,
“Vertical farming is not only a great solution to future food
shortage problems but a great strategy to to address
many environmental problems resulting from urbanization.”