The city of Jackson, Wyo., gets around 400 inches of snow falls a year, and its valley location means most of the city’s produce is brought in from other places, ArchPaper reports. With these two conditions, there can be times when the city is cut off and becomes a food desert.
This sparked the concept of building vertical gardens so the city has a better chance of self-sustaining when it comes to fresh produce. Sustainable community specialist Penny McBride and designer Nona Yehia came together and founded Vertical Harvest Jackson Hole, which will construct a three-story, 13,500-sf hydroponic greenhouse to be placed on leftover land that’s only one-tenth of an acre. The company enlisted Larssen Ltd. to engineer the greenhouses and assist with design.
Though the greenhouses may be lean and narrow, the multiple stories add up to five acres of agricultural space. A timed, carousel system will revolve trays of plants to maximize south sun exposure.
“We will be growing 100,000 pounds of vegetables a year,” Yehia said, adding that the produce can be sold to restaurants, hospitals, and the local community.
Fruits and vegetables aren’t the only thing Vertical Harvest will produce—jobs will also be part of the greenhouse’s repertoire.
“Vertical Harvest will establish an innovative model to employ an under-served Wyoming population: adults with developmental disabilities,” the firm said in a statement.
The greenhouses are slated to open in December 2015.
Related Stories
| Dec 17, 2013
Nation's largest net-zero K-12 school among winners of 2013 Best of Green Schools award
The Lady Bird Johnson Middle School in Irving, Texas, was named a winner of USGBC's annual award, along with nine other schools, individuals and communities working toward the common goal of healthy, high-performing learning places.
| Dec 16, 2013
Irving, Texas building state’s second net-zero school
Lee Elementary School, scheduled to open in fall 2014, will be net-zero-ready, and if the school board decides to sell district bonds and allow the purchase of additional solar panels, will be a true net-zero facility.
| Dec 10, 2013
16 great solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors
From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.
| Dec 9, 2013
What is life cycle cost optioneering?
Life cycle cost optioneering is a way of assessing alternative design options, analyzing their long-term capital and operational costs to identify those with the lowest price tag, over the entire life cycle.
| Dec 9, 2013
Skaneateles, N.Y., converts old firehouse to net-zero village hall
The Finger Lakes village of Skaneateles, N.Y., renovated its vacant firehouse into Skaneateles Village Hall, the first municipal net-zero energy building in the state of New York.
| Dec 2, 2013
Security is key component of Army’s net-zero assessment strategy
For the U.S. Army, creating secure sources of energy is an important driver for its net zero goals. Critical military missions are at a high risk of failure in the event of an electric grid failure, according to a Defense Science Board report.
| Nov 27, 2013
LEED for Healthcare offers new paths to green
LEED for Healthcare debuted in spring 2011, and certifications are now beginning to roll in. They include the new Puyallup (Wash.) Medical Center and the W.H. and Elaine McCarty South Tower at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas in Austin.
| Nov 27, 2013
University reconstruction projects: The 5 keys to success
This AIA CES Discovery course discusses the environmental, economic, and market pressures affecting facility planning for universities and colleges, and outlines current approaches to renovations for critical academic spaces.
| Nov 25, 2013
New California codes moving state toward net-zero requirements
Under the new Title 24, all new residential construction must be net zero by 2020, with all new commercial buildings achieving this goal by 2030.
| Nov 22, 2013
Health Product Declaration Collaborative to develop protocol for third-party verification of HPDs
Seven leading product sustainability assessment companies partner with the HPD Collaborative to develop the verification and quality assurance protocols.
