Farm in the city could be supermarket of the future

By George Webster, CNN

Updated 1313 GMT (2113 HKT) October 29, 2011

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Within the next year, Dutch firm Van Bergen Kolpa Architects hope to have a working prototype of a supermarket farm that could produce most of the food items found in any grocery store.
Photos: The supermarket park
The 'Park Supermarket' – Within the next year, Dutch firm Van Bergen Kolpa Architects hope to have a working prototype of a supermarket farm that could produce most of the food items found in any grocery store.
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New climate zones and landscapes would be created based on the type of food produced, such as risotto rice on water terraces, tilapia fish in basins, and kiwis and avacodos along undulating fruit walls.
Photos: The supermarket park
The 'Park Supermarket' – New climate zones and landscapes would be created based on the type of food produced, such as risotto rice on water terraces, tilapia fish in basins, and kiwis and avacodos along undulating fruit walls.
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Warmth-accumulating snake walls and more contemporary solutions such as insulating water spray 'roofs' and geothermal heating would create the necessary climate to grow whatever food was demanded in the urban environment.
Photos: The supermarket park
The 'Park Supermarket' – Warmth-accumulating snake walls and more contemporary solutions such as insulating water spray 'roofs' and geothermal heating would create the necessary climate to grow whatever food was demanded in the urban environment.
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Growing the food on site will remove the need for packaging and long-haul transportation. The park's architects hope that this will to cut the carbon emissions typically associated with food production.
Photos: The supermarket park
The 'Park Supermarket' – Growing the food on site will remove the need for packaging and long-haul transportation. The park's architects hope that this will to cut the carbon emissions typically associated with food production.
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The park is also designed to be a recreational space, with customers invited to casually walk or cycle around the different climate zones.
Photos: The supermarket park
The 'Park Supermarket' – The park is also designed to be a recreational space, with customers invited to casually walk or cycle around the different climate zones.
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Story highlights

  • Concept designed to produce all food of a modern supermarket on one plot of land
  • Dutch architects say they will use mix of technologies to create artificial growing climates
  • Scheme designed to reduce food production and transportation emissions
  • Crop scientist has doubts about creating artificial microclimates
Big cities are rarely home to thriving farmlands, but a group of Dutch architects hope to change that with the "Park Supermarket" -- an urban farming project that will attempt to grow and sell all the food of a modern supermarket in one place.
The firm behind the proposal, Rotterdam-based Van Bergen Kolpa Architects, intends to produce everything from risotto rice, to kiwis to Tilapia fish all on one 4,000-acre plot of disused land in Randstad, Holland's largest metropolitan area.
In defiance of the country's moderate climate, the