Vertical agriculture is one of those things I'd like to believe in, but like many interesting and wonderful ideas in architecture it gets sunk by the "hedgehog" rule. This is the rule that come into play when there is one big thing that makes something possible or impossible regardless of all other inputs. A vertical farm in a city requires the same three things as a farm in Nebraska: a growing medium, water and light. An argument can be made that certain efficiencies can be achieved in the first two categories--even to the point where the revenue from the produce can cover amortized construction costs and deferred maintenance. Light, however, is the dealbreaker, because the instant you start paying a utility bill you start competing with the sunlight that the farmer in Nebraska gets for free. While the geometry of the vertical building could be arranged to take advantage of natural light, it does so at an escalating penalty for the efficiency of is floor plate configuration. A shallow floor plate allows more natural light but not enough to overcome the shade of floors above. And what about when someone builds a high rise in the path of the sun?
How about the day when energy becomes too cheap to meter? I'm not holding my breath.
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