Beyond Urban Agriculture - How can architecture contribute to fresher food supply?

The vulnerability of complex value chains that became apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic is now driving cities to test new ways of facilitating access to fresh and healthy food. Urban agriculture has emerged as a solution to re-establish production and consumption ties in a sustainable way and reconnect not only urban dwellers with food systems but also cities with their peri-urban areas.

On the occasion of the UN Food System Summit, the UN Environment Programme and YALE Centre for Ecosystems and Architecture, have installed a living green wall system called the Active Modular Phytoremediation  System (AMPS) to demonstrate edible food plants that are currently been grown within control agriculture settings in urban environments.

Besides reconnecting with nature by creating indoor gardens and providing fresh food, the plants inserted in the living green wall have many benefits including cleaning the air, reduce energy consumption, promote local ecosystems, decrease stress and improve indoor environments. The AMPS uses both sides of the wall to show how food and plant systems might be integrated towards a productive and healthy environment.

The installation also includes a series of posters as well as an interactive screen where visitors can get more information on the Building-Integrated Vegetation, which takes advantage of the available surfaces on the exterior and interior of buildings, stories from people who are transforming buildings by using plants around the world and an interactive section with tips to start their own project.

Find out more information about the exhibition here.