AgriTecture

gilo.holtzman

gilo.holtzman
Empowerment through food production
 “
in every civilization decline,
decline there is a
clear point when their food source
occurs too far away from the city.
city ”

gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 H lf off the
Half th world’s
ld’ population
l ti currently
tl lives
li
in cities. By 2025 urban population is
expected to increase by 65% of the global
population. One major issue related to rapid
urban
b growth
th is
i food
f d production.
d ti

As for 2001 40% of the world land area was

used for agriculture (crops and grazing)
purposes.

gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 Our current methods of agriculture
results
l iin a large
l environmental
i l
impact, the inefficiency of the modern
agriculture practice when impact
mainly on our water resources system,

gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 h
humans already
l d use more
than half of the
accessible, renewable
fresh water and 70-80%
percentt off th
thatt is
i used
d for
f
agriculture.
g

gilo.holtzman
gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 • Climate change, extreme weather

As Research shows, an increasing temperatures and

declining precipitation over semiarid regions are likely
to reduce yields for corn, wheat, rice, and other primary
crops in the next two decades. These changes could
have a substantial impact on global food security, and to
some extant they already do.

Molly E. Brown and Christopher C. Funk www,” Food Security Under Climate Change”, sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 319 1 FEBRUARY 2008 Published by AAAS,

www.sciencemag.org on March 10, 2008

gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 • Crops directed towards bio fuel

• Rising
g food p
prices

• Pesticides, herbaceous, fertilizers

• Water prices and demand

• Demand (emerging developing countries)

gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 Lack of research
•Lack
•Decrease in land for urban sprawl
•Over 40 % of world food production
occurs on irrigated land
Public Health concerns
•Public
•Deforestation

gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 Agriculture
g in Australia,, Few Facts:

• Agriculture occupies 62% of our land mass

• And Approx 62% is used for grazing.
• Australian 167.3
167 3 million tones of food is
transported around Australia a year ,2.5 billion
kilometers of travel
• Billions kilometres of food is being imported to
Australia each year.
• Up to few years ago Australia was the larger soy
bean producers/ exporter in the world, now it
exports none.
• Australia exports food for 50 million people world
wide.
www.acfonline.org.au/consumption

gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 • 41,799 ha of farmland in Sydney
• 31,000 ha of parkland in Sydney
• $1 Billion / year direct contribution to NSW
$1 Billi / di t t ib ti t NSW
• Its economic value to the industry as a whole is over $4.5 billion annually
• 90 per cent of Sydney’s perishable vegetables 
90 pe ce o Syd ey s pe s ab e ege ab es
• Almost 100 per cent of the state’s Asian vegetables
• 80 per cent of the fresh mushroom supply A viable local economy
• Most of Sydney’s cherry tomatoes, snow peas, snake beans, Lebanese 
cucumbers, fresh ,tomatoes, spring onions, shallots
• 33 % of NSW
33 % of NSW’ss poultry production
poultry production

gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 90 % of Sydney
Sydney’ss
fresh produce is
supplied by market
gardens in the
Sydney basin, (Cohen 2007)

should
h ld make k
Sydney’s food
market sustainable

gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 But...
gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 Sydney s basin air contains high pollutants due
•Sydney’s
to industrial emission which captures in the
basin.

Urban sprawl
•Urban

gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 Food
ood Co
Concerns
ce s
• Approx 60% of our eco-footprint is embodied
is in food.

• Food eco footprint is 43%.

• Food is responsible for 26% of our GHG

p
pollution.

gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 Food
ood Co
Concerns
ce s
• Approx 60% of our eco-footprint is embodied
is in food.

• Food eco footprint is 43%.

• Food is responsible for 26% of our GHG

p
pollution.

gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 Food Concerns
• Approx 60% of our eco-footprint is embodied is in
food.

• Food eco footprint is 43%.

• Food is responsible for 26% of our GHG pollution.

pollution

• Food production consumes a lot of water. [44% of 

available water ]
available water 

• Processed food contains large amount of

preservatives and additives.
additives

gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
•Food diet in western world is responsible for the increase

in obesity, coronary, cancer, and other diseases.

•Result as huge public health and economic problems.

•Under nutrition in pregnancy and in early childhood can

lead to enhanced susceptibility to NCDs in later life (H l et al.,

(Hales l 1991
1991;

M.Barker 1994).

http://www.acfonline.org.au/consumptionatlas/
gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 So...

gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 The ability to create a more sustainable city lays in our
capability to minimize transportation of food to almost
none, minimise water use, and shift to farming
g in the
city, with organic wastes as fertilizers, with out the
need
d off chemical
h i l products.
d the
h use off abandoned
b d d lots
l
and buildings in the city, for farming are an effective
land utilization thus closing the loop, which results in
lower food cost and small environmental impact.
impact

gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 The g
goal of urban agriculture
g is not only
y more
efficient land use, self sustainability and
lowering our ecological footprint but also to
allow for a transparent organic food
production, were the city occupant are able
to see, control and participate with the
production of most of their valuable foods.
foods

gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
 ” The farm as an urban
imperative is not a novel
concept. Le Corbusier’s
dream of a “vertical garden
city,” imagined every worker
as, also,
l a f
farmer.
“Agricultural labor abandons
the countryside,”
countryside ” he wrote
in 1923. “With the eight-
hour shift,
shift the worker here
becomes a farmer and
produces a significant
portion of the things he

consumes.”

gilo.holtzman [I] M. Wang, "Gardens in the Sky”, Published: October 1, 2008 http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/28622/gardens-in-the-sky/ AgriTecture
 The pressing issue of servicing
the city with fresh food is
identified in the City of
Sydney’s Sustainable Sydney
2030 vision document.
However objectives and
actions to achieve delivery of
fresh food to city dwellers and
workers are not clear. Do we
relay on weekly city farmers
markets or urban farming ideas
such as communal gardens to
feed all who need to be
sustained in a city?
gilo.holtzman AgriTecture
a synergy between
agriculture
g and
domestic living –
a design concept
that speculates
on a new urban
order by creating
a place for socio-enviro
ecological
belonging between
the building
occupants t and
d
the locals through
the cultivation of
food for sustaining
city living.
AgriTecture
 the ‘Bays Agri‐Precinct’ proposal 
h ‘B A iP i ’ l
looks at
rejuvenating the area of White Bay
rejuvenating the area of White Bay, 
Glebe Island and Rozelle brown field 
into a lively agricultural hub, which 
aims to provide for much of the city’s
food outlets and neighbouring 
communities with fresh food.
iti ith f h f d

gilo.holtzman
The use of a 
The use of a
Hydroponic and 
Aquaponics
method for 
cultivation will 
ensure year round
crops, water use 
and transportation
and transportation 
savings, on site 
waste  
waste
management and 
energy harvesting 
Significantly  
educing the carbon 
footprint of city
footprint of city 
inhabitation.
Sky farms, production line
Glebe Island Water front housing for the urban farmer
Rozelle Parkland Communal Gardens
White Bay | Glebe Island Food / Fish Markets
 A synergy between agriculture and
d
domesticti living
li i the
th ‘Agri-Housing’
‘A i H i ’
‘Agri - Housing’ /Student Co-Op’ project which is
based on Cooperative and
cohousing principles, creates an
affordable and sustainable living
system
y approach
pp so that each 8
living units will share a kitchen,
living room and green house. the
Agri-Housing
Agri Housing concept also allows
for a family or an individual to
grow their own food, according to
their own needs,
needs taste and cultural
background, and may also
generate additional income by
selling
lli their
th i surplus
l tot the
th co-op
shop.
•Self-production of food for tenants & community.
•Production of organic & healthy food,
food free from diseases
diseases, fertilizers &
pesticides.
•Flexibility in working hours.
•Independence
•Create an additional income [if selling products, and also saving on
travelling and food costs, also an indirect long term health related
expenditure].
•Create new jobs for occupants and the community.
•Creating g a sense of community, y, a comprehensive
p communal g garden
concept.
•Bridges community cultural differences.
•Creation
Creation of sustainable housing conditions.
conditions
•Reduction of air and soil pollution levels, locally & globally.
•Improvement in the site’s microclimate and reduction in energy use.
•Collection and use of rain/ storm water.
water
•Grey and black water recycle, for toilets and irrigation where needed.
•As a results a decrease of inhabitants ecological footprint.
•Allow
All affordable
ff d bl liliving
i conditions
diti b
by reducing
d i ffood, d water,
t energy &
transport expenditures.
 Food is the common thread
that connects members of
the community

gilo.holtzman
 AgriTecture
gilo.holtzman

gilo.holtzman
Empowerment through food production