Sustainability of the 21st Century Logistics Landscape: Warehouse Roofscapes as a Potential for Hydroponic Agriculture

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F46747885%3A24520%2F24%3A00012854" target="_blank" >RIV/46747885:24520/24:00012854 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.strand.rs/2024-proceedings/#flipbook-df_59427/95/" target="_blank" >https://www.strand.rs/2024-proceedings/#flipbook-df_59427/95/</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.60152/6o0n1m2n" target="_blank" >10.60152/6o0n1m2n</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Sustainability of the 21st Century Logistics Landscape: Warehouse Roofscapes as a Potential for Hydroponic Agriculture

Original language description

Today, the logistics landscape forms a stable part of the urban transect, where it largely shapes the entrance gates to cities. The Central European region in particular faces a massive increase in warehouse construction. In 2023, its net area reached 59 million sqm and grows by 7 million sqm each year. The paved and impermeable area of its surroundings is, however, 3x - 4x larger, which leads to a wastage of quality agricultural land and water in the landscape and to the formation of heat islands that negatively affect the climate of adjacent cities. Topically, the logistics construction is needed, therefore we must find solutions to its negative effects on the landscape, populated areas and society, and humanize their current state. One way of saving space is layering logistics with other functions. The most feasible way of using the roof landscape appears to be hydroponic agriculture - from its open form to plastic greenhouse plants to year-round RTGs using waste heat from warehouses. Hydroponic farms can be placed on most of the existing flat urban roofs due to their light weight and enable them to cool down and green up. At the same time, they can locally produce a surprisingly large number of crops per month. This can shorten the food paths, thus strengthening the food security and the overall resilience of cities. The solution is therefore based on 3+1 pillars of sustainability: economic, social, environmental + aesthetic and meets the goals of the Green Deal for Europe. However, developers and warehouse tenants are open to the idea only if it works as an independent business case (bringing new economic value), has a benefit for the company‘s ESG strategy or green marketing and does not create requirements on maintenance. That is why the start-up project “Lettuce on the roof”, described in this article, was created as part of the research. It aims to popularize the idea, to explain its sustainability and economic benefits, to compile its business plan and thereby attract the interest of stakeholders. The project continues by the implementation of a pilot roof farm at the Technical University of Liberec, which proves the feasibility but also the economic potential, which is a condition for the roof farm quantification and expansion from small urban roofs to large roof areas of warehouses.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

D - Article in proceedings

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

60402 - Architectural design

Project

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Continuities

S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach

Publication year

2024

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Article name in the collection

On Architecture – Shaping the Cities Through Architecture (2024)

ISBN

9788689111385

ISSN

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e-ISSN

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Number of pages

11

Pages from-to

82-92

Publisher name

STRAND-Sustainable Urban Society Association

Place of publication

Belgrade

Event location

Belgrade

Event date

Jan 1, 2024

Type of event by nationality

WRD - Celosvětová akce

UT code for WoS article

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