Underground lettuce - turning a London bunker into a farm

摘要

The United Nations expects the world's population to reach 10 billion people by 2050, almost 2/3 of whom will live in cities. To be capable of sustainably feeding the growing global population, agriculture needs change. One promising concept is vertical and urban farming. However vertical farming does not necessarily need to mean "high-rise farming". In London/UK, entrepreneurs have literally turned the concept on its head. Located between the Clapham North and Clapham Common underground stations in the southwest of London, a farm sited in a former air raid shelter is supplying the neighboring shops with vegetables, herbs and cress. The facility may go downwards, but it still counts as a vertical farm. Here, behind thick concrete walls, the 'fields' are stacked on top of each other up to 4 stories high. Metal sheets full of pea sprouts, radish and coriander are piled in neat columns. The LED lamps on the ceiling bathe every- thing in a pink light. Via ventilation shafts, a filtration and supply air system feeds the underground farm with oxygen.