ALPINE BIOFACTORY

The centralization of vegetable/fruit-cultivation is a contemporary phenomenon, which can be classified as problematic not only for the environment, but also for smaller farmers. Vast “greenhouse landscapes“, like Almeria in Spain (360 km²), use mono cultures, which facilitate the spreading of vermin and, therefore, the use/utilization of pesticides. With the decentralization of agriculture and the use of multi cultures, a pesticide-free food-supply can be ensured.
My proposal is a BioFactory, which combines multiple technologies to create a highly productive system, which is less harmful for the environment. The BioFactory integrates aquaponics, multi cultures, vertical farming, a biomass plant and algae cultivation to create a closed ecosystem without any use of pesticides.
The building itself is divided in three climatic zones and a research center. The flow lines and the slope of the terrain are taken into consideration during construction so as to minimize power consumption. The system obtains water from the consisting streams, which is then collected in the fishtanks. The produced fish waste is converted by bacteria into fertilizer, hence no additional fertilizer will be needed. Subsequently, the fertilized water flows through the pipe structure, which sluices the fruit/vegetables. The biomass from the plants gets partly fed to the fish whereas the rest is delivered to a biomass plant, which produces electricity and heat for the BioFactory. To cover the remaining nutritional requirements of the fish, algae are cultivated. Eventually, the water flows back to the consisting stream system and completes the cycle. Thus, the system can be used to cultivate a big variety of fruit/vegetables.