CO-MIDA : BIOPHOTOVOLTAIC VERTICAL GARDENS 3D PRINTED WITH CLAY
The inauguration of the CO-mida vertical garden at ConnectHort, on March 5th 2022, will be the last event of the CO-mida project, for the development of prototypes of vertical gardens co-designed with the users, intelligent and Bio Photovoltaic.
CO-mida has been one of the 7 winning projects of Ciutat Proactiva 2020, a call for urban innovation launched by the BIT Habitat Barcelona Municipal Foundation to face the new challenges of urban inclusion and sustainability in the context of covid- 19.
It is a project of the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), and the partner entities Sun Sun Love Association with ConnectHort and the Taula Eix Pere IV Association.
The project developed a smart modular vertical garden made of 3D printed clay, to grow aromatic and edible plants in built environments where horizontal surfaces are not available, such as in dense urban areas. It can be installed on any type of vertical surface, and in particular on building facades, increasing their thermal inertia and reducing the need for heating inside the building.
FROM THE FIRST PROTOTYPE TO THE SECOND OPTIMIZED PROTOTYPE
A first Bio Photovoltaic vertical garden prototype was installed in March 2021 in the Jardín de Las Mariposas, in Passatge Trullàs, a space managed by a group of neighbors in the Poblenou neighborhood.
The project carried out a co-design process together with the users of ConnectHort, an urban garden, which allowed the design of the first prototype to evolve, improving it and adapting it to the needs of the new space, where the second prototype of vertical garden Bio Photovoltaic Food was been installed in November 2021.
The new prototype has a 10 times larger surface area than the first version, going from 1.5 m2 to 15 m2, and its geometry allows for more plants to be accommodated with equal weight of the modules.
Thanks to the co-design process, different types of modules were created: modules for growing plants, but also for providing a habitat for the insects, birds and bats of the urban ecosystem. In the second prototype, the modules were also not coated, to increase the development of bacteria and reduce the carbon footprint of the project.
In the CO-mida Green Walls event, the results of the project were presented to the community of potential users and promoters (institutions, neighborhood groups, urban vegetable garden management entities, homeowner communities, green wall system companies, investors, construction companies, architecture offices) that participated in its development with their feedback.
BIOPHOTOVOLTAIC: PRODUCING ENERGY FROM THE EARTH
The vertical garden produces not only aromatic and edible plants, but also energy, thanks to a Bio-Photovoltaic system that collects energy from the bacteria that inhabit the soil where the plants live.
Bacteria obtain nutrients from plants and metabolize them, releasing hydrogen protons and electrons. The introduction of a microbial fuel cell (anode and cathode) leads to a redox process that transfers the free electrons released by the bacteria from the anode to the cathode, thus producing electrical energy, which can be used to power the sensors of the vertical garden.
3D PRINTING WITH CLAY, A LOW CARBON FOOTPRINT TECHNOLOGY
The technique used for the realization of the vertical garden is 3D printing with clay, a natural material with a low carbon footprint, which after firing at low temperature is transformed into ceramic.
Within the framework of the project, 3D printing workshops with clay were carried out, to learn and experiment creatively with this technique.
Digital manufacturing, thanks to numerical control machines such as large-scale 3D printers and milling machines, facilitated the co-design process with users, allowing different versions of the garden module prototypes to be easily made, and the system to be adapted to different dimensions, morphologies and demands, according to the needs identified by the community.
THE PARTICIPATORY PROCESS OF CO-DESIGN WITH USERS
Through a series of workshops with the two groups of users of the project, the residents of Passatge Trullàs and the ConnectHort collective, the co-design of the vertical garden has been a key phase of the project, and made it possible to integrate the presence of the modules in the long-term project of the two collective spaces.
Both groups gave innovative and interesting ideas to expand the impact of the project: the modules integrated new functions, aimed at social inclusion and also at a broader interaction with the animal and plant species of the urban ecosystem.
CO-MIDA APP: AN INTELLIGENT SYSTEM FOR THE COMMUNITY CARE OF THE VERTICAL GARDEN
A WebApp was developed for the community management of the vertical garden, CO-mida App, based on the Smart Citizen Kit system, a project that develops sensor kits for real-time environmental monitoring by citizens.
The intelligent system of the vertical garden includes humidity and temperature sensors, one for each line of modules, which send information to users through the CO-mida App about the status of the plants and the amount of Bio Photovoltaic energy produced.
By accessing the CO-mida App you can see the data of the plants of the two prototypes in real time.
THE COMMUNITY CARE OF THE VERTICAL GARDEN
Taking care of the vertical garden together has been an opportunity to create new relationships between ConnectHort users. Five care groups were formed, each focused on an area of the vertical garden. Within the groups, and between one group and the other, relationships were created between people who were different by age, gender and geographic origin, helping to foster community resilience and the neighborhood community bonds.
The groups actively participated in the project, from the planting of the vertical garden, to the 3D printing workshop and the convivial moments.
URBAN GARDENS AS AN AWARENESS-RAISING TOOL
Growing community gardens brings psychological benefits and raises awareness about healthy eating and sustainability. Within the framework of the project, workshops were held with activities related to the vertical garden and focused on different groups in the neighborhood: children, people with disabilities, members of the Passatge Trullàs Consumer Group, workers and students who eat in the Passatge Trullàs at noon, and participants of the National community urban gardens meeting.
THE REPLICATION POTENTIAL: URBAN COMMUNITY BIO PHOTOVOLTAIC GARDENS
A fundamental objective of the CO-mida project is to expand the possibilities to create urban gardens where the availability of horizontal surfaces for cultivation is scarce and taking advantage of unused vertical surfaces, such as party walls.
This would make fresh local products available to users while improving the urban microclimate and local biodiversity, and creating and strengthening community bonds between the people who take care of the vertical garden.
In line with the Barcelona City Council’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% in 2030 (compared to 2005) and to increase urban green space by 1.6 km2 in order to fight climate change, CO-mida project aims to contribute to the construction of a new scenario that prioritizes deglobalization and the commitment to more self-sufficient, sustainable and resilient local production models.
In this context, CO-mida uses urban space to produce food while restoring the surrounding ecosystem and biodiversity, thus reducing greenhouse gases and optimizing air quality.
The documents to fabricate the vertical garden modules and the guidelines for its co-design and co-maintenance will be available soon on this web page, which will include a forum for suggestions to improve the project.
