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Posts Tagged ‘Barge’

Floating Greenhouse: Mobile Barge to Grow Food & Cruise Danube

08 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

eco barge

Designed to float down the Danube river in Europe, the Eco Barge is a solar-powered floating greenhouse illustrating the possibilities of offshoring urban food production.

floating eco barge concept

floating greenhouse model

In addition to growing usable organic produce on the water, the barge has educational components, aiming to host presentations and workshops for citizens of European cities along the river, starting in Belgrade. Growing on the water allows food production to remain local without taking up valuable urban land.

floating solar greenhouse

floating greenhouse design

An indoor office and presentation space brackets one end of the barge while the greenhouse is situated at the other, an open space with solar panels sitting in between. Sun and wind power systems generate renewable energy used to power the vessel as well as its on-board irrigation system.

floating hotel concept

floatel

Salt & Water, the architectural and yacht design firm behind the Eco Barge, are known for their floating projects, including a floating hotel concept made up of private yachts. These independent boats share common docks and community spaces, but can detach for explorations as well.

Forage-Friendly Barge Brings Fresh & Free Produce to NYC Docks …
Floating Farms: Agricultural Barges to Yield 10 Tons Per Year …
Floating Beach: Recreational River Barge Campaign for NYC …

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Forage-Friendly Barge Brings Fresh & Free Produce to NYC Docks

05 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

food barge

A food barge full of fruits and vegetables is coming to the waterways of the Big Apple this summer, stopping at scheduled increments to let people pick produce as it passes from one dock to the next.

swale rendering

Depending on where you live in New York City, finding a grocery store with fresh food is not always easy. The Swale project, set to launch in June on an 80-foot-long barge, will bring everything from blueberries to chard to people who want to partake.

In some cities with serious food desert problems, including Philadelphia and Baltimore, food forestry has already taken root. In Seattle, the seven-acre Beacon Food Forest is maintained by community volunteers and open to anyone who wants to grab something off a branch or vine.

swale food project

According to the project leader of Swale, New York ordinances prevent foraging for food on public land (such as parks), making similar projects in NYC impossible to launch, except on the water, of course. “We want to show that healthy, fresh food can be a free public service,” says Mary Mattingly, “not just an expensive commodity, and something that for not much work and effort, a city could supply.”

waterpod two

The project grew out of another of her adventurous works dubbed the Waterpod, in which she and some fellow artists lived self-sufficiently on the water for six months, growing their own food.

waterpod

More about the current Swale project: “Swale, a collaborative floating food project, is dedicated to rethinking and challenging New York City’s connection to our environment. Built on an 80-foot by 30-foot floating platform, Swale contains an edible forest garden. Functioning as both a sculpture and a tool, Swale provides free healthy food at the intersection of public art and service. With Swale, we want to reinforce water as a commons, and work towards fresh food as a commons too.”

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Floating Beach: Recreational River Barge Campaign for NYC

Manhattan is packed full of world-class restaurants, a vast array of shops, a beautiful nature preserve and virtually everything else required to satisfy the …
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Vertical Micro-Farms: Fresh Produce Grown in Berlin Groceries

Taking farm-to-table approaches to new heights, a company in Berlin is putting small vertical farms directly inside of grocery stores to provide fresh produce …
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Floating Beach: Recreational River Barge Campaign for NYC

05 Jul

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

Manhattan City Beach 1

Manhattan is packed full of world-class restaurants, a vast array of shops, a beautiful nature preserve and virtually everything else required to satisfy the modern urbanite – except for a beach. That might seem obvious; it’s an island built up from swampland, cut off from the sea. But that doesn’t mean beach-craving creative thinkers can’t come up with a way to incorporate one into America’s most densely populated city. City Beach NYC is a project seeking to build a floating beach park on a barge in the Hudson River.

Manhattan City Beach 2

Starting with a reclaimed barge, the project would create a two-level destination with shops and restaurants tucked beneath a curving, sand-covered platform overlooking the water. You can’t exactly swim in the Hudson, but the park would have misters for cooling off, as well as a large water feature that mimics the sound of the sea, drowning out the city cacophony.

Manhattan City Beach 3

Changing rooms, a surf shop and a marine science lab would also be incorporated into the 260-foot park. The plan is to permanently moor it on the west side of Manhattan, with the possibility of renting small personal watercraft like kayaks and paddle boards.

Manhattan City Beach 4

The creators of City Beach NYC are currently raising the first round of funding on Indiegogo to hire a team to develop the operational plan; additional milestones will build scaled 3D models, fund the services of architects and engineers, and gain permits. They’re hoping that the people of Manhattan want a beach badly enough to come together and donate. Sure, you could just cross a bridge and go to Coney Island or Brighton or Rockaway, with access to the actual ocean, but a floating beach with views of the city would certainly be a novelty.

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Floating Islands Add 100,000 Square Feet to Downtown Seoul

Beyond merely extending solid ground like most downtown-on-the-water expansions, this project creates new mobile infrastructure right out on the waves.
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Swim the Thames: Pair of Pools for London’s Polluted River

Inspired by planned Super Sewer that will reduce pollution in London’s central waterway by 96%, this audacious design aims to take advantage of a future …
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