Three Greenhouses that show a glimpse of futuristic urban farming

To understand the greenhouses we need to first understand how they work or what the basic principle behind their working is. Energy from sunlight heats up the greenhouse floor and as we all know, warm air is lighter than cooler air, so the heated air rises to the top of the greenhouse. When the heated air rises, cooler air replaces it at the bottom of the greenhouse. This air too is heated and rises. The process is repeated fast as the circulation path for the air is less. So the ground and air absorb enough heat during the day to keep the greenhouse warm all night. This is the basic idea behind any greenhouse. In greenhouse the plants get all the sunlight they need without being exposed to the harsher climates.

Greenhouse

Basically the greenhouse functions as a controlled environment for the plants to grow. Greenhouses are our future if we need sustainable life. Below are listed three greenhouses which give a glimpse of futuristic urban farming.

1. Omega Center for Sustainable Living—OCSL

Omega center

The OCSL is not only a greenhouse but an environmental education centre and natural water renewal facility. It is the first green building in America to achieve both LEED Platinum and Living Building Challenge certification. OCSL has what is known as the Eco Machine. It treats wastewater without chemicals. The Eco Machine has been designed by John Todd, a pioneer in the field of ecological design. It can clean water by mimicking the processes of the natural world.

All the water from Omega's campus, including water used in toilets, showers, and sinks, flows to the Eco Machine, where it is purified by microscopic algae, fungi, bacteria, plants, and snails. It processes up to 52,000 gallons of water per day .Energy used to reclaim water by the Eco Machine is solar energy. In addition gravity aids the water's flow to the Eco Machine, reducing energy demand.

2. The Sahara Forest Project

Sahara forest project

The Sahara Forest Project combines two technologies in a new way producing large amounts of renewable energy, food and water. This project has two main elements:

a. Seawater Greenhouse: It is a new invention that can create a cool growing environment for plants in hot parts of the world. It also produces distilled water from seawater by evaporating seawater and condensing it into fresh water. They hope to reverse the desertification which has been created by normal greenhouses as they use up more water. Seawater greenhouse copies the natural cycle of water which creates rain fog and dew.

b. Concentrated Solar Power (CSP): It is the most exciting and innovative way to harness sun’s energy to create power. It works well in hot and arid climate. The sun’s rays, collected through reflecting mirrors, is used to heat water which then produces steam to power turbines

3. The Eden Project in Cornwall

Eden project

The Eden Project is an enormous structure. The structure comprises three biomes:

a. The Humid Tropics Biome: This domed greenhouse recreates the natural environment of a tropical rainforest. The warm, humid enclosure houses hundreds of trees and other plants from rainforests in South America, Africa, Asia and Australia.

b. Warm Temperate Biome: This biome houses plants from the temperate zones. Like rainforests, temperate rainforests also receive heavy rain every year. This feature makes them ideal for varied plant life. This Biome has many plants from places like Southern Africa, the Mediterranean and California.

c. Roofless Biome: It has an open area with varied plant life from the Cornwall area, as well as similar climates in Chile, the Himalayas, Asia and Australia. The Eden Project is more than just a collection of greenhouses. It works to show the relationship between plants people and resources.