November 30, 2013

Urban Farm Versus the Apocalypse

Urban Farm on a Rainy Day © Jon Ellis (aka jonorobo). Click each image to see enlarged version on DeviantArt. Most concept art is obsessed with various forms of self-inflicted apocalypse.

By Glendon Mellow

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

Urban Farm on a Rainy Day © Jon Ellis (aka jonorobo). Click each image to see enlarged version on DeviantArt.

Most concept art is obsessed with various forms of self-inflicted apocalypse. If humanity has any hope to avert future catastrophes, that hope lays with designers, architects and engineers.

I came across the Urban Farm concept art by architect Jon Ellis and was struck by the beautiful images and what they represent. Creative thinking that builds inspiration for practical solutions - yes. Looking at this, the angles and green crops growing skyward, the market level and how it all fits in a conceivable way into the landscape, I want one here in my home city. The angled building is like a jungle canopy in reverse: letting more light reach the ground floors, or perhaps drawing in more sun in a northern hemisphere when the winter sun lays low to the south.

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Make sure to visit Jon Ellis's sites to see even more images from the Urban Farm project.

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