Vertical Farming — Ran Konaka

Identifying Leverage Points For Design Intervention in Vertical Farming

Map that explores key stakeholders who are acting as drivers or barriers towards the viability for vertical farming to be a sustainable staple of our collective food future

CLIENT Institute of Design (Educational purpose)

Challenge

Investigate whether vertical farming is a financially viable and sustainable option for society. Identify opportunities for design intervention to make vertical farming more rooted in the U.S.

Solution

Visualization of stakeholders who are acting as drivers or barriers towards the viability for vertical farming to be a sustainable staple of our collective food culture, and strategies for design intervention.

As a part of the Systems and System Theories class, we were tasked to choose a focal system, for which we will map the system interactions, identify key power dynamics, and offer new opportunity areas to explore. we chose the vertical farming as a topic.

Vertical Farming is a relatively new player in the food space, in conjunction with greenhouses, vertical farming can offer a solution to growing food in urban areas, using less land, less demand on long distance transportation global supply chain outputs that contribute to environmental degradation. Vertical Farming is distinguished in its ability to grow food using LED lights instead of sunlight so it’s an optimal solution for empowering local places to grow their own food year round, even in environments with limited growing seasons, or sunlights in the winters. However, Vertical Farming has not yet fully taken root in the United States.

Is Vertical Farming financially viable and sustainable? How might we make it more rooted in society?

Role

Strategic Designer

Collaborator

Instructor

Project Duration

January 2022 - March 2022 (in Chicago)