Urban Earthship 2026; Resource Generative Architectural Design

Abstract

Most of the global population live in urban areas with limited control over production and the quality of their food. The scarcity of biologically productive space together with the degrading agricultural soils caused by conventional farming and the process of climate change have led to severe negative consequences for the environment and for food security. There have been recent advancements in methods of decentralized and compact resource production. Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) techniques such as hydroponic vegetable cultivation and Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) have spatial qualities to be implemented in dense contexts like in cities. This thesis explores how compact methods of onsite resource production can be architecturally merged in the design of a new multi-family urban residential building. The project is complemented with the development of a bespoke inhabitation concept for the design. The design is influenced by references of in situ resource generation projects, the field of autonomous architecture and analysis of the specific site chosen for project The design process included concept development to formulate the project program and the synthesizing of the material into an architectural development procedure utilizing physical and CAD-models. The result is a building design proposal on a site in Stockholm, in the northern parts of Hagaparken on a plot currently used as parking site. A collective inhabitation concept for 200 residents who not only live but also work part time in the building together. The building is open to the public by its restaurant that serves both the inhabitants and visitors food from what is grown and produced in the project. The thesis draws conclusions from the design regarding architectural consequences, inhabitation aspects and diet. The experimental architectural outcome of this project indicates that it is plausible to facilitate self-sufficient food production in an urban residential building and fulfill most of its inhabitants’ daily demand of food nutrition like proteins. This is achieved by the design of a collective inhabitation concept, architectural synthesis of spatial functions and technology together with the composition of a healthy and tasty diet cooked from what is grown in the house.