The document describes a proposed set of rooftop greenhouses in Paris that would add green space and food production while utilizing solar heat. It also outlines an urban farming system called PlantaSymbioSystem where organic waste from farms is used to produce biogas and fertilizers in a cyclical system. Additionally, it provides details on anaerobic digestion, the multi-step process by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material to produce renewable biogas and fertilizer.

1. _The Architecture of Urban Farming:
Plug-and-Play Urban Greenhouses by SOA Architectes
SOA has proposed a set of rooftop greenhouses as part of the renovation of a public-housing complex in the Paris suburb of Romainville. The structures are easily plugged in on top of the existing structure. This allows the buildings to continue to mesh with the surrounding buildings while adding a new green interest to the skyline. The
greenhouses’ only source of heat will be the sun, requiring a shift to
cold-resistant crops during the winter. The project is awaiting funding
from the French state.
Vegetation
Topsoil
Ball clay
40/40 grating
Pallet racking
Culture tank
Sprinkler system

2. _PlantaSymbioSystem
The farm produces vegetation and left over resources mainly composed of organic plant material,
as well as consumes carbon dioxide and is partially heated with excess heat from surrounding
context. The organic waste from the farms is used in the production of biogas and fertilizers. This
system works to facilitate a “cradle-to-cradle” symbiosis between the farm and the urban grid.
-Plantagon
Peak Heat
Bio gas
Plant Nutrients
CO2
District Heat
Heat
BioGas
Power Facility
Organic Waste
Plant Waste
Alluvial Soil of the Red River Basin
This region of Louisiana is particularly ideal for the
growing of these specific crops as well as other
non-indigenous plants due to the climate and soil
composition of the area.

3. _Irrigation
Brooklyn Grange
Stormwater and Greywater Collection
Brooklyn Navy Yard Farm.
Largest rooftop farm,
covering 65,000 SQ FT.
Rooftop farm accounts for
1 million gallons of stormwater filtration per year.
Utilized 10-12” of RoofLite
Ag Blend soil to contain
vegetation and manage
stormwater.
43,000 SQ FT rooftop
farm on 38-17 Northern
Blvd. 10” of light soil.
Building below houses
businesses that utilize the
produce of the farm
above.
New York City Apiary,
located on 300 acres
houses 20 independant
hives, yielding honey and
the honeycomb as well as
increasing bee populations in the area.
Greywater is any water has previously
been utilized for washing or cleaning. It
can be used for a number of purposes
rather than being sent to a sewage
plant, including, irrigation, indoor
reuse, water usage in extreme environments, and heat reclamation. It can be
recycled with or without purification
depending on the particular need.
Simple irrigation methods that have potential
for the Allendale and Ledbetter Heights areas
Allendale-Scale Farming Operations

4. _Other Farming Initiatives
The Greenhouse Project
Kiss+Cathcart project that partners with
New York Sun Works and The
Manhattan School for Children to
integrate a greenhouse into the school.
School greenhouse and separate barge
greenhouse help facilitate cultivation
learning in the children and allow an
interface between the school and its
students, the produce industry, and the
surrounding neighborhoods.
The Science Barge, by New York Sun
Works. The only total net zero carbon
emissions, zero pesticides, and zero
runoff facility in New York.
MiniFerme by SOA Architectes is an Allendale-scale
proposal for implementation into the city core.
Recently completed project by SOA
Architectes. A small urban farm and
education center in Plateau d’Avron.
Was designed to offer a connection
between the people and surrounding
farmland and agriculture.

5. _Other Farming Initiatives
The Science Barge by New York Sun Works
The Science Barge is a sustainable farm situated on a
barge vessel that is powered by solar and wind power,
biofuels, and irrigated by rain and river water. It provides a
source of food for the city with zero total carbon emissions,
no net water consumption, and no waste runoff. The
produce on the barge requires 7x less land and 4x less
water than standard field crops. Vegetation is grown using
a system of hydroponics. The whole system is carbon
neutral so there is no adverse affect to the environment.
Hydroponics is a subset of
aquatic horticulture, where plants
are grown in a mineral rich
solution in the absence of soil.
Almost all plants are capable of
growing in this way. This method
produces higher yield with no
pesticides and reduced risk of
plant disease.

6. Breakdown of complex waste products into useable fuel components by various bacterial processes
_Anaerobic Digestion
Carbohydrates
Fats
Sugars
Carbonic Acids
and Alcohols
Fatty Acids
Proteins
Amino Acids
Hydrogen
Carbon Dioxide
Ammonia
Hydrolysis
Acidogenesis
Hydrogen
Acetic Acid
Carbon Dioxide
Acetogenesis
Anaerobic digestion is a serious of processes in
which microorganisms break down biodegradeable material in the absence of oxygen, hence anaerobic. It consists of four different processes: Hydrolysis, Acidogenesis, Acetogenesis, and Methanogenesis, which work to break down waste products into useable methane and carbon dioxide.
Chiefly used in renewable energy processes, anaerobic digestion can produce renewable biogas
for use as fuel or digestate for fertilizer.
Methane
Carbon Dioxide
Methanogenesis
LEED Platinum Biogas facility
in Delhi, LA.