The Landscape Architecture of London Food
Growing Underground has been around some years but now more than ever some of its core values seem to be at the forefront of the British food and environmental industries.
The brain child of two men, Growing Underground simply put, is a business which grows about twenty different types of herbs deep under London’s streets. The Clapham based enterprise utilises disused air raid shelters to house a business which “aims to reconnect British consumers with local products”.
Growing plants with no natural light or water sources must surely though have a huge environmental consequence I hear you say?! Not so, Growing Underground prioritise sustainable growing practices and are working towards carbon neutral certification. Their hydroponics (without soil) system uses 70% less water than traditional open field farming and all nutrients are kept within the closed-loop system thus removing any risk of agricultural run-off.
Their snazzy LED light system means they can even adjust the light levels to meet the needs of the individual plant species (maximising growth) and they limit their food miles meaning their produce can be delivered sooner and therefore fresher (often within 4 hours of being picked and packed).
Quoted in the independent as saying
“We’ve got enough food to feed the planet, it’s just all in the wrong place”
…they made that into their business model and are setting an example for not just food businesses but all businesses across the UK.
From a landscape architecture perspective, the architecture of the landscape is constantly evolving to meet the growing demands of population growth and this means an ever present battle between buildings and open space. We’ve all heard of farmers’ land being sold to developers to make room for housing. It makes sense then, that as population density in urban space increases, so open spaces are declining. Farming forms a huge part of rural landscape architecture across the UK and this project argues that along with high-rise farms and the like, there are sustainable solutions to finding alternative places to grow our food.
So next time you fancy some pink stem radish, garlic chives or a pea shoot, spare a thought for an underground corner of Clapham where two men are challenging us to think differently about our food, our farming and possibly even our even our urban landscape.
Photo by Petr Magera