AgriCulture is a project born from research I carried out in the area of the Vloeivelden in Groningen. The area that I choose is one of the flow fields of the former Sugar factory.
Through my research, I found out that in the area there are almost 0 businesses related to farming and agriculture.
The name AgriCulture derives from the function that I choose which is a cultural recreational space.
is a place where people from different cultures can come together and spend some quality time around the theme of sustainable farming.
One of the most important aspects is accessibility. Indeed there is a walking and bicycle route running around the structure, through which people may be able to see what is happening inside also without the need to physically enter the building. In this way, the structure is accessible on every level of personal engagement.
All is going to rotate around farming, especially hydroponic farming, this is because the area is dominated by water.
The design of the building is made of different levels of elevation from the water. This is done to recall the landscape of the Vloeivelden that is made out of a constant repeat of water level and land level.
The walking path is running all across, inside, and on top of the structure, making it very accessible. The bicycle route, which is connected with Groningen city , is passing on one side of the facility letting the riders understand what is going on inside it. In this way, I am creating curiosity and I am attracting more potential users.
The hydroponic greenhouses are going to collect the water directly from the flow fields. Inside the columns of the structures, there are filters and hydraulic immersion pumps that are pumping the water up. In this way, there is always fresh and clean water supplying the greenhouse, creating a circular system.
The material used are the ones that are normally adopted for water constructions: concrete, steel, and acrylic PMMA.
Because of the industrial feeling of the area for the materialization I choose to use raw construction materials together with some more eco-friendly oriented choices. For example, the use of sugar beet-derived bioplastics, that is matching with the nearby area because of the Cosun Beet sugar factory.
