Story Symbiotic Design for Productive Territories

The very foundation of the human transformation of Earth can be traced back to the beginning of farming - which compelled our nomadic ancestors to settle. As the human population rapidly approaches the 8 billion mark, agriculture returns to be one of the key issues of territorial development and its infrastructure boldly shapes immense surfaces of our planet. Management of agricultural territories is going to be one of the crucial battlefields for securing a sustainable existence on planet Earth.

Not only agriculture is growing, but it’s also changing at incredible speed. Gone are the idyllic vistas of the rural landscape, replaced by infinite planes of high-tech greenhouses tended by remote-controlled drones.

The urgent needs of efficient agriculture are threatening the ecological balance of the entire planet. Simultaneously, those same territories are becoming more and more inaccessible to humans themselves - fenced off like hi-tech factories. Therefore, the current design of high-productive farms is not only depleting biological diversity but also depriving us of the enjoyment of the landscape.

Can we imagine a highly efficient infrastructure that also provides amenable spaces for visitors? Can multiple species coexist in harmony on an intensely farmed territory?

Under these conceptual premises, we ask you to design a holistic proposal for a “farm” as a unit of territorial transformation. This may comprise enclosed structures for humans, machines, plants, and animals, production of energy and spaces for storage, as well as the overall organization of open land.

The jury for the competition consisted of esteemed designers, professionals, and academicians from around the world. The Lead Jurors for the competitions were as follows:

Romea Muryń, Architect / Urban Planner, Romea Muryn Studio, Poland

Stephanie Kyuyoung Lee, Founder / Director, Office of Human Resources, United States

Víctor Muñoz Sanz, Assistant Professor, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands

Transfarm

Some of the Best of competition projects are:

Winning Project: Coaliving: A new post-mining agricultural typology

By: Dunja Dedic

Description: The project aims to set an affordable agricultural model, both in its materialization, and its programmatic outline. Rather than being based on farming, it interrogates how the processing of raw produce on a small scale can be financially self-sustaining, as poverty is ever-increasing with small farming communities.

People’s Choice: DEEP BLUE

By: Jovana Lucic

Description: This project brings innovative hybrid agricultural and urban typologies to the natural landscape. Methods of natural water purification using a sustainable ecosystem encourage the treatment of heavily polluted water as it flows through the site and establishes a new paradigm for modern agricultural life.

Institutional Excellence: All that is solid melts into the air

By: Nenad Pavlovic

Description: This research-led design frames response to a contemporary challenge posed by the technological crusade of the countryside. The design aims to reconcile two main domains, public and private. The main influence was derived from a typical country house in Vojvodina.

Editor’s Choice: Transfarm

By: Александра Кулакова

Description: Perfect farm constructor. Create your own idea.

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Editor’s Choice: Etenim cum in nebula

By: Magdalena Jędruszko

Description: Oasis for animals and humans, that emerges like a fog in a forest.

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Editor’s Choice: Transfarm

By: Michał Dobek, Kinga Kosińska & Michał Górski

Description: Symbiotic Design for Productive Territories.

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Editor’s Choice: Mother river

By: Katarina Vlašković

Description: Climate change has been present for a long time and affects the environment and the entire living world. The direct consequences of climate change can cause significant problems and that is why this project is considering a climate adaptable system in order to continue food production.

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Editor’s Choice: Kukuriku city

By: Danica Petrović

Description: The project of the agricultural self-sustainable city that consists of chicken, worm, and bat farms. It aims to collect all the organic waste generated by the inhabitants of the farm and waste generated from the feces of chickens and bats and convert it into heat and electricity with the help of biogas plants.

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Editor’s Choice: feed:back

By: Maja Savić