Vertically Integrated Greenhouse
The Vertically Integrated Greenhouse (VIG) combines a double-skin building facade with a hydroponic greenhouse, offering one pathway towards energy efficient buildings that can grow their own food.
This patented system is a highly productive, lightweight, modular, climatically responsive system for growing vegetables within a double skin façade (DSF).
A south facing, vertical glazed façade at the relatively high latitude of the UK admits a fairly even distribution of sunlight throughout the year. Compared to a conventional greenhouse, the VIG provides increased production in winter, when produce prices peak.
Plants are grown on trays suspended by a simple cable system, and all crop management occurs at the bottom level. Systems modules can rise as high as 10 or 20 stories each. An adaptive control system alters the angles between rows of plants in the manner of Venetian blind, maximizing solar absorption diurnally and seasonally.
Greenhouse crops add a significant financial return to the base case for a DSF, which centers on enhanced winter heat gain and noise control. The crops also shade the interior.