Strip malls are everywhere. While they provide convenient access and affordable commercial space for a diverse tenant mix, their expansive surface parking and lack of human-scaled connection to adjacent neighborhoods have a deadening impact on our communities. A universal shift in the way we treat this pervasive typology: such as converting parking lots into farms – could result in massive change.
PARKING LOT AS FARM. Bumper Crop is a soil-less farm irrigated with reclaimed waste water and suspended above the strip mall parking lot to shade the ground plane and reverse the heat-island effect. By means of a membrane bioreactor, reclaimed water from the city sewer main supplies the overhead crop with nutrient-rich irrigation water creating an oasis in the asphalt desert. Land currently used for parking only is reclaimed for urban agricultural production thereby preserving undeveloped land and repairing the ecosystems that have been sacrificed for soil-based agriculture.
STRIP MALL AS NEIGHBOR. By repurposing its back edge to address the parking lot and the alley, the strip mall becomes accessible by foot for the adjacent residential community. Up-zoning the residential properties adjacent to the strip mall alley allows for live-work structures to promote small business opportunities within walking distance of homes. The vacant alley, a virtual no mans land, is transformed into a vital pedestrian link. The transition from commercial to residential is eased and the pedestrian is invited to reclaim the strip mall site.
Congrats! Also love the “alley conversion” idea. What a dynamic difference this would make.
What a great use of wasted space and it could provide a beautful shaded environment to go shopping. It doesn’t get much more locally grown than “out in the pakring lot”!
This is a great idea doubling space. I view the alley conversion concept more as a storefront facing traffic concept… I am sure it is easy to provide safe transition to the storefront from the parking lot, especially if it is enclosed.
I wish that when strip malls are made, they would look to the environment first, then the bottom line. Perhaps this will be more likely with government grants/assistance?
I would like to see the roof of the building repurposed as well.
I hope that the sewer treatment does not need regular maintenance, unblocking lines, causing a big stink. I also wonder about the efficacy of using human waste in farming. Are parasitic cysts destroyed? I prefer treatment at the source, using incinolets. The ash can be used in my rose garden, but never in a food garden.
I do like this idea, but it only doubles a space. There are other ideas that can 10x it, and that is what is needed to combat suburban sprawl.
Super Idea!
not only does it shade parking spaces that emit so much heat and occupy so much space, but it is also giving back to the community a beautiful scenery where the car becomes part of this amazing landscape!
Those cables and trusses holding up that much ‘crete and dirt? Not likely.
And these are gardens not farms. Mechanical tillage would be impossible – this is the basis of reasonably priced food.
This is an extensive green roof – nice idea – solves stormwater problems, not food problems.
C+
I like the concept, but I have a hard time envisioning the harvesting process on the described suspended structures. I don’t see walkways or any safety barriers to allow people access to the plants.
Good!
Digesters produce methane which can be used for power generation as well as solid and liquid soil improvers.
Nice concept, which is what this little exercise is about. I wish people would not immediately dive into construction details as previous comments suggest. Its just a concept.
I like this idea, but I wonder how dark it would be under all this roof…maybe a some areas of natural light and water features.
Just one step in a big problem, good job!
Bravo! Crops don’t need to be limited to food for humans. Flowers and colorful foliage could provide a feast for the eyes, if not the stomach. There are many plants whose flowers,fruit, berries or seeds will attract and feed bees and birds. And the water supply doesn’t have to be wastewater/sewage; it could be gray water or “harvested” rainwater.
What happens when it pours down raining, and the water causes all the plants and dirt to wash out onto the cars below?
okay so this isn’t really “farming”, and suspension isn’t really practical when lowering the light plants to the trucks is more efficient than lowering the entire “crop tray”. if the structure can support than much heavy dirt, it can support people walking around and working up there and the need for lowering the tray is removed.
so yeah in actual execution the nature of structure would probably be different, but this is a good idea. a lot of larger malls already have multiple levels of parking so existing structures could be repurposed.
i do think that the need to leave the parking in place could be reconsidered though. why build an elevated structure when the entire parking lot could be converted at ground level? then find other ways to get people to and from the mall. that’s a much larger problem, however, and the proposal here would at the very least beautify endless parking lots – particularly if people had walking access to the gardening level.
If I owned a strip mall I would build a second level of parking or more retail area instead of a farm, its all about cash flow…..wishful thinking
Apparently, people don’t read the project descriptions (which probably explains why the most absurd entries gets the most votes). Aeroponics is the “process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil or an aggregate medium” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroponics) Also from the above narrative: “Bumper Crop is a SOIL-LESS farm.” This eliminates the weight and messiness of dirt and ‘crete, and much less expensive to build than a deck of parking.
Interesting idea…Who tends the farm ?
I like this project except continuing our use of cars. I hope the judges understand this because the voters are way too ignorant to realize the concept of this competition. Wait, it also looks like the judges have gotten it wrong, are ya’ll sure you picked the right 20? Or perhaps you should read your own guidelines again. Way to lead the charge.
Great idea and good presentation of it. Covering flat dark asphalts with green elements works. I recommend using solar cells parallel to this for creating green energy for using in the area. Should work on details more later but it is duable.
Nice Job
Great concept….I really liked the idea of using water frm sewer….
If nothing else, this would help with a lot of excess heat in the cities. Structurally, it deserves more thought.
I think that it has a lot more benefit than just a parking lot farm. Grasses help the CO2 problem as well as forage for insects and birds. Lowering ambient temperatures in the summer counts a lot for the planet – especially in places like Phoenix. Covered parking would also be a customer draw.
A friendly pleasant atmosphere helps to keep crime down.
Bravo. Essentially you are moving the car/ transportaion gris to a secondary position and returning the biosphere to its rightful connection with the sun. Sure there will be difficulties, but the concept is a good one and adds all of the benefits of increased plant life, reduced heat island, Photosyntheitic generatyion of cellulose as a potential hydrocarbon. Air quality filter, water treatment, minimal new space required.
Hope you get a lot more votes
wonderful!
I’m not sure how quickly this could generates money – it seems like there’s a lot of up front design and construction just to start the farm. But what I really like about this idea is how its presented – it focuses on the technical aspects of how it would work, and also addresses the idea of zoning. Even if someone built this as a pilot project, without regard for making money on it, the zoning would likely be one of the most important issues that the project would have to address. (As a civil engineer with some land development and permitting expertise, I speak from experience here.)
Frank, have you ever tried living in the suburbs without a car? Perhaps the whole premise of this competition is flawed because it conveniently ignores the reality and the necessity of the car in the American suburb. I grew up in the suburbs and not having a car sucks. The nearest bus stop was at least a 20 min walk way, and the buses came, at best, once an hour. I am now lucky enough to live near my work and in a neighborhood with a wide variety of services so I don’t need to drive on a daily basis to get what I need. Guess what this is called – a city.
Unfortunately, not everyone can afford to live in a area with frequent, fast, reliable public transportation and enjoy the luxury of a car-free lifestyle (i.e., people with kids, working-class people). Many move to the suburb because that’s the only place where they can afford to live. Do you see fast, reliable trains or buses in Scottsdale, Arizona or suburbs like it? I don’t think so, and I doubt that’s going to happen in the near future. For the vast majority of Americans, the only realistic way to get from their home to their workplace or retail/business services is to drive. And of course, those businesses will need to provide parking if they want to stay in business. Bumper Crop recognizes the economic necessity of strip malls and parking lots, and rather than trying to impose an unrealistic solution to the “problem” of suburbia, it tries to make the best of existing conditions by using those parking lots for other purposes.
Nice Re-Submittal
… but nice project!
Great concept !!