Touch of Eden

AAU - Aalborg University, Denmark

Project idea

VISION
Somewhere in the wild harsh yonder, close to the end of the world, a little oasis of life is kept, nurtured and cherished greatly. Lush, verdant Eden, sanctuary of bliss beneath a glazed sky. The moment you step through the door, a wave of felicity hits you. It awakens your senses but grounds you, nourishes your soul.

Imagine,
You sip homebrewed kombucha on a rooftop patio, having a view towards the milky blue Mývatn nature baths on one side and Hverfjall volcano on the other. You are watching Northern Lights during winter or, if you will, midnight sunset during summer. You are sitting inside of a greenhouse, pleasantly warm as always, checking the menu for the newest chef specialities. You know everything will be prepared from home-grown, high-quality ingredients, you can see the whole process yourself.

​​​​​​​The greenhouse provides farm-to-table experience for visitors and access to freshly harvested and nutritious food. It contains a restaurant with dining facilities that can host more than 100 guests, organic food market as a mini shop to buy goods straight from the greenhouse, yoga and meditation workshops for a moment of mindfulness, and upstairs spaces for conferences or business, lectures and other educational activities. A rooftop terrace is a part of a restaurant, but can also serve for concerts and other events under the stars.

Here you will find comfort, health and nourishment all-year-round. The place reconnects people to food, consumption to production, and strengthens human relationship with nature, where all the vitality comes from. It inspires, enlightens and educates about consumer choices of the food we eat every day.

Proposal calls to raise awareness of global issues, from the inefficient food production and water crisis to the rise of CO2 emissions. It is about implementing the model of sustainable farming into architecture, in Icelandic context. Architectural expression of the proposal is a result of integrated design process shaped by microclimatic conditions, where minimalism blends with surrounding nature. The restaurant honors existing beauty with its simplicity.

Project description

SYSTEMS
On a first glance Iceland, with its harsh climate conditions, seems like the last place suitable to grow food. But when looking closer, one can rethink plentiful hot spring water, green energy and rich volcanic soil. The proposed concept combines renewable geothermal energy with sustainable aquaponics and vertical farming technology, allowing for a circular symbiotic system working on an extremely local scale - within one greenhouse.

Closed ecosystem results in lack of invaders, pests and diseases, which breaks the dependence on fertilizers and pesticides and makes the produce entirely organic. The facility relies on regenerative design, where output makes input and “waste” is converted to compost in a waste-to-resource system. Also, rainwater from the roof is harvested and reused in the water management circuit. The heat in the greenhouse is managed by control panel systems and additional temperature-regulated ventilation hatches located along the greenhouse ridge. This ensures an even, nice climate throughout the year.

The whole greenhouse is heated with abundant Icelandic geothermal hot water reserves to a stable air temperature of 23 - 25 °C, which is optimal for many plantings and increased biodiversity. The focus here is on agroecological approach - understood as sustainable farming that works together with nature. Therefore, highly efficient aquaponic vegetable cultivation in beds and towers is proposed due to decreased land area and water consumption. In sustainable aquaponics, every component is provided within a system, with minimal inputs needed.

As fish suitable for aquaponics brown or golden trout is suggested, as it is not only native to Iceland, resilient and delicious, but also can appear to be quite ornamental. It grows fast to a plate size (9 months), and since fish are cold blooded animals, there is no risk of salmonella or e coli in aquaponically grown food. This way produced home-grown greens are perfect ingredients for the restaurant, providing healthy meals to the visitors and the local community.

Technical information

MATERIALITY AND CONSTRUCTION
Locally sourced materials are an integral part of the design, as the resources in Iceland are scarce and most of the building materials have to be imported (which contributes to the Global Warming Potential). Exemption is cement, gravel (ballast materials) and stone wool. Therefore, the foundations are built from locally produced concrete, same as all floors, internal and external walls (insulated with Icelandic stone wool). Emissions from construction are also minimized by using low-carbon materials, such as the cladding from locally-sourced larch wood planks. The greenhouse has a glulam wooden frame and is closed by the hardened 4 mm glass, kept in place by aluminium profiles.