With a skyscraper farm, the idea is that one can control the
environment and manner of producing crops. Unless the building
is wiped out by tornado or earthquake, vertical farms have the
potential to reduce weather-related crop failures. And with
modern engineering, one could set up an elaborate system of
rainwater reclamation and filtering to avoid water runoff
pollution. Plus, skyscrapers go everywhere. You could have
towers in Tokyo, London, Shanghai, Dallas, or where ever,
growing organic goods. Locally-produced organic goods sans the
transportation premium and carbon emissions–now that has the
potential to be disruptive! Vertical farms use artificial light
and with the right combination of renewable energy power a
building, I could see this being a legitimate endeavor. Experts
suggest we’re about 15 years away from realizing something like
this, but hey, it’s not one of the worst ideas I’ve ever heard.
The above image is the Living Tower by Pierre Sartoux. The first
level below the jump is Gordon Graff’s