Up on the roof with BrightFarm Systems Special

New York - BrightFarm Systems is a specialist greenhouse design consultancy, focused exclusively on the design of hydroponic rooftop farms.

Benjamin Linsley is the Managing Director, BrightFarm Systems Benjamin co-founded BrightFarm Systems in 2008 (with Ted Caplow ), following two years as public affairs director of parent company, New York Sun Works. He oversees and coordinates all aspects of Brightfarm’s mission. He handles day to day management of the company and leads on business development and major client relations. BE: What was the inspiration behind Bright Farm Systems? BL: BrightFarm Systems was established to build on the work of its nonprofit sister company New York Sun Works, designers and operators of the internationally renowned Science Barge, and to respond to the steadily growing interest in sustainable urban food production. BE: Why rooftop hydroponics? What are the advantages in an urban setting? BL: Locating high performance greenhouses on urban buildings offers a solution to the principle challenges facing cities: reducing the environmental impact of growing produce; reducing the distance food travels before reaching consumers; and providing fresher, better, more nutritious produce to urban consumers. With over half of the world’s population living in urban areas, the logic of growing more food in the city, close to the point of consumption, seems overwhelming. In recent years, urban farming has enjoyed steady growth in popularity, but a major problem city farmers face is a lack of land. A real opportunity exists, however, to produce significant quantities of food in the heart of the city, efficiently, cost effectively, and in an environmentally sustainable fashion. This approach to sustainable urban farming adapts the high-yield techniques found in commercial greenhouses for use on and in buildings within cities. Hydroponics refers to the growing of plants without soil, in water containing the essential mineral nutrients the plants need. Recirculating hydroponics, the most modern and efficient method, can produce premium-quality vegetables and fruits using 10 to 20 times less land and 5 to 10 times less water than conventional agriculture. Producing food this way also eliminates chemical pesticide use, fertilizer runoff, and most of the carbon emissions from farm machinery. Many urban structures, due to their size, dense occupancy, and internal power consumption, ventilate out substantial amounts of heated air all year round. This heat is often difficult to recapture for building use, but in colder climates can be harnessed to help warm a rooftop greenhouse. In addition, plants thrive on the high levels of CO2 in building exhaust air. Hydroponic greenhouses are lightweight and suitable for rooftop deployment. Ecologically designed systems capture rainwater for irrigation, reducing urban stormwater runoff. Rooftop greenhouses also reduce solar heat gain to the building, mitigating urban heat islands. BE: I notice that you work with schools, please describe one school project? BL: BrightFarm Systems was commissioned to design and develop an environmental education center and local food production facility on the roof of the Manhattan School for Children (PS333) on the Upper West Side of New York City. The learning laboratory and greenhouse is designed to include: hydroponic systems to grow lettuces, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, and squash for the school cafeteria; an aquaponics module; rainwater catchment; renewable energy; energy conservation ; interactive information displays and technologies; and seating for 35 students. The greenhouse provides a unique facility for the learning of science concepts including plant science, chemistry, physics, biology, nutrition and environmental sustainability. Other notable environmental features include zero waste design (water reclaimation and composting), integrated ecological systems (aquaponics, plant polycultures), and sustainable building materials BE: Please tell us about New York Sun Works?

BL: New York Sun Works Center for Sustainable Engineering, the nonprofit sister company of BrightFarm Systems, was founded by Ted Caplow in 2004 and is dedicated to the development of ecologically sustainable systems for producing food, water, and power. New York Sun Works designed and built The Science Barge on the Manhattan waterfront in 2006, and operated the facility for three years. The Science Barge was the first demonstration of high yield, commercial grade urban food production with near zero net carbon emissions. Off-grid and off-pipe, the hydroponic greenhouse on The Science Barge was powered by wind and solar, heated with vegetable oil, and irrigated by rainwater. Through the Greenhouse Project, New York Sun Works is deeply engaged in the creation of a rooftop version of the Science Barge at the Manhattan School for Children (PS 333)