Idea Farm | San Francisco, CA
This was our submission to an open design competition for a site on Horseshoe Cove located north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge.
San Francisco is recognized as a region where creativity and high-tech development are continually at the forefront of the global advancement of ideas. This project proposes the creation of an institute that woul bring together environmental engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs in a collaborative setting where they can address the most pressing threats facing our planet. The Bay Area is an ideal setting for such an institute because it is home to several of the world’s top research universities, and holds a strong concentration of bio-tech industry development. This institute is envisioned as a field station in a coastal environment that will host researchers from around the world. Individual research projects will be evaluated and selected by a board so that funding and facility space can be allotted to the most promising projects. Candidates would apply to work on projects in their related area of study and be selected to live in residency on site in dormitory facilities allowing for full immersion in the environment. The facility would allow the various research teams to test prototypes and systems in real world conditions, providing empirical feedback. The individual “lab” spaces are interchangeable and can be modified to meet the requirements of each particular study. Topics of research are not pre-determined or limited however, anticipated areas of study include food production, bioremediation and natural filtration techniques to remove toxins from soil, water and air, and bio-fuel production. Since the center would be completely off-grid, it would also serve as an ideal testing facility for renewable energy production systems and fresh water production through desalination.
The wave like superstructure is designed to allow the individual lab modules to be positioned, interchanged, modified or removed as needed for each study. Recommissioned shipping containers were chosen as the ideal unit to house the research labs and occupied spaces on the site. The containers are ideal because of they are modular, structurally suited for stacking, easily modified, and can be salvaged from previous use in the shipping industry
All of the water used within the facility would be produced by an on site desalination plant. Greywater would be collected from the café, lavatories, and washing facilities and filtered to be reused for watering the garden. It is envisioned that the desalination plant could provide enough water to supply all of the irrigation needs for the on site gardens, as well as the other facilities currently located at Fort Baker. The goal would be for all of the energy used to be produced on site through wind generators, solar collectors, and tidal energy. The site is frequently foggy but provides dependable sources for wind and tidal energy, so all three sources would be combined to provide dependable continuous energy. The narrow passage at the mouth of Horseshoe Cove would be equipped with submerged tidal turbine generators that can harness the volume of water that moves in and out of the cove with each tidal cycle.
Food would be grown and produced on site from external gardens, growhouses, and aquaculture programs. Sustainable agriculture methods would be taught through internship programs that allow future farmers to learn and practice these techniques through an on-site residency program. The café would offer food produced on site and excess produce would be distributed to local residents through a Community Supported Agriculture program.