AbstractsPhysics

Problem definition and objective. Population growth and rapid urbanisation may result in a shortage of food supplies in the future. Existing high-rise buildings may offer opportunities for the solution of this problem. The objective of this study was to investigate aspects of the requirements, design and energetic performances in the re- development of existing high-rise structures into vertical farming facilities. Study design. Literature review, followed by prospective performance analysis and feasibility study. Setting. Two representative office buildings in Delft, the Netherlands and in Wan Chai, Hong Kong SAR are selected as case studies. Main outcome measures. Production efficiency is expressed in production capacity, energy use and production output. Energy, taken as the performance indicator, is expressed as energy expenditure per production area. Results. Design guidelines were formulated according to data from the relevant literature. For both case studies the key features proved to be spatial layout, façade construction and production density. The split-production zone with a transparent non-insulated façade and a single production layer offers the best performance in terms of cooling energy use and total energy use, relative to the production area. However, for achieving maximum production in the existing buildings we prefer a design with a similar façade construction and layout but with four stacked production layers.