Food security today appears to be more and more elusive. With a burgeoning global population to feed, the climate crisis is making it progressively difficult to sustain viable quantities of agricultural produce with traditional methods. We seem to be moving towards a point of no return—especially when current farming practices are inciting an ecological imbalance. Combined with the significant carbon footprint in transporting produce from farm to table, we seem to be in dire need of quickly adapting to solutions that aren’t to our detriment as the current processes. Vertical farming, aquaponics and aeroponics show incredible promise—with significantly higher yields produced in much smaller areas and also reducing transportation and storage costs if located closer to consumers. Urban Farming can fortify a sustainable urban framework and if interwoven within policies that enable it to become ubiquitous, holds the potential to be a powerful tool against climate change. Designed by German architecture firm HENN, the Vertical Farmhouse in Berlin, Germany features a hybrid programme—with workspaces and research facilities—embracing urban farming at its heart.

In the southeast of Berlin, a former industrial site is proposed to be transformed into a new urban technology hub and commercial complex that would also be a lively urban quarter. The Vertical Farmhouse is part of a larger project called Behrens Ufer, which is positioned between Ostendstraße and the river Spree in Berlin-Schöneweide. Behrens Ufer would host research, development and production activities across an array of listed industrial buildings and new sustainable architecture, public squares and a riverbank promenade along Spree. The Vertical Farmhouse is located on the eastern edge of the complex, comprising two blocks that enclose a terraced rooftop garden which becomes an extension of the promenade.

A 9000 square metre aquaponics farm has been visualised to take space under the accessible garden to grow fresh produce inside the urban complex. “Inspired by coastal agricultural landscapes, the rooftop garden is designed as a playful orchard with light extensions and overgrown pergolas inviting visitors to pick berries and fruit from trees. It serves as a place for outdoor communication, inspiration and recreation for those who work in the building or visit the gardens,” HENN shares in their official press statement. The building features arcades that open into the riverside promenade, inviting visitors into the Behrens Gardens. The gently rising levels showcase a hill-like presence, evoking a feeling of strolling along a hilly orchard. Considered vital to preserving ecosystems, beehives are also featured along the rooftops to emulate a natural ecological process. The pergolas are envisioned to act as a visual and functional transitory element between the various levels as well as between the enclosed and open spaces. For the Vertical Farmhouse, a hybrid timber structure is proposed that uses a low-tech approach to minimise resource and energy consumption. To increase the surface area that helps generate solar-powered energy, large glass windows are combined with photovoltaic panels throughout the facade. Agrivoltaic systems, designed for the rooftops, propose an attempt to optimise the area and allow for both agriculture and electricity generation.

The two blocks of the farmhouse—comprising an office and a lab—and fragmented by the terrace garden and aquaponics farms are connected by a bridge at the entrance from the promenade. The bridge is planned to include co-working spaces that offer scenic views of River Spree on one side and the terraces on the other. The indoor farms are anticipated to grow lettuce and herbs in modules that are as high as nine metres, some of which would be in a fully automated setup. The aquaponics process uses the nitrate-rich water from fish farming as fertilizers for growing plants, mimicking a natural cycle.

The design team also states how a standardised grid allows flexibility in functions for the two wings, a feature prevalent in industrial architecture in which structures are often adapted to include new functions that may not be related to the originally intended program, making the built environment relevant for a long period. This is reflected in the Berhens Ufer as well, which comprises a series of listed buildings that will be restored and refurbished for adaptive reuse. The site is named after German architect Peter Behrens who mentored several European modernists such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius when they were starting in the 1910s. Often referred to as a pioneer of corporate design and ‘the world’s first industrial designer’, Behrens designed the Behrensbau in the 1910s—a factory building for an automobile company started by AEG, which was one of the world’s largest electrical companies. The Behrensbau, now a part of the Behrens Ufer project, will undergo restoration and adaptive reuse to accommodate future functional requirements. From being a former industrial site that barred people’s access to the river, the project aims to transform the site into a commercial complex with significant public spaces to reinvigorate the Oberschöne­weide district.

The Vertical Farmhouse serves as a template for urban farms to become a part of the general discourse in urban planning, engaging our primary needs such as food through recreation and technology closer into our daily lives.

Project Details

Name: Vertical Farmhouse
Location: Berlin, Germany 
Architect: HENN
Year of Completion: 2024