Can the creation of a rooftop garden be considered as an artproject?
I will formulate an aswer on this question later.
More and more people are living in the cities. We have to search for new modes of sustainable living, new ways of food production. Re-examine the link between the city as consumer and the countryside as provider. In this context, we are researching how to make a network of intensively cultivated city rooftopgardens where we can grow food for the neighbourhood.
With the greenhouse rooftop project we want to blend the natural and the digital in one and the same nature. We will explore how to set up a middle sized rooftopgarden (± 440m2) with recycled materials, and with the help of DIY digital tools we will study the biotic and abiotec elements of the rooftop ecosystem: the growth, blossoming and decay of plants while they are submitted to the natural elements as wind, rain, snow, etc.
The greenhouse rooftop garden is an extension of the yet existing edible rooftop garden. The 2 intensive rooftopgardens are situated on top of adjacent parking lots and are physically connected. The edible rooftop garden is specialised in mediterrean and medicinal plants, herbs and flowers – all with an important nectar/pollen value.
The greenhouse rooftop garden focuses mostly on fruits and vegetables. Both gardens are set up along the principles of permaculture. They both host several bee colonies, and are very friendly to other pollinating insects and birds.
In both gardens we work with recuperation of rainwater and we make our own compost. We will set up alternative energy systems with solarpanels to power the waterpumps. The beehives are monitored with custom-made, low cost technology.