The project for Harvesting the Future serves as the model for urban growth by blending technology with natural growing methods. According to the Urban Age Project,75% of the world’s population will be living in a city by 2050, a leap from the 10% in 1900 and the 25% in 2007. Based on the consumption of 300 calories a day of only fruits and vegetables, one can a feed 375 people, or 150 households, a year. Growing vertically provides social, environmental, and economical benefit to the expanding urban community, and as each element evolves, Harvesting the Future challenges the limits of technology to accommodate the increasing need for farming in the city.

The concepts of shifting density and the subsequent need for interweaving spaces have emerged to inform the design approach for Harvesting the Future. Because the incorporation of the public into the program of this building is essential, a market space carves itself into the grade plane to lend itself to become owned by the community through allocated vendor spaces. In the levels above, interior parks are created by weaving planes of hydroponic planter systems with light and with
circulation of people. Harvesting the Future integrates seamlessly with the site conditions while setting itself apart visually to state its futuristic addition to the community.

This project was a collaborative project with Gary Carnevale & Daniela Rodriguez over the course of the semester.