Farm flourishes on NYC building

A new urban farm has been set up on the rooftop of a skyscraper in New York.

The project has been undertaken by Bromley Caldari Architects, who teamed up with Brooklyn Grange LLC and Acumen Capital Partners.

The building, located in Long Island City, New York, is a renovated 300,000 sq. ft. skyscraper, which was originally used as a seven-story commercial loft building hosting many businesses across several industries, including architecture, media, fashion and design, and printing.

The renovation of the building cost a total of $10m (£6.5m), which allowed the 42,000 sq. ft. rooftop to be converted into an urban farm.

Approximately one million pounds of soil has been transported to the rooftop, which cements the farm’s status as one of the world’s largest rooftop agricultural systems. As well as the setup of the agricultural side of the farm, renovations were made to the rooftop itself. These included changes such as the installation of an extra elevator, an upgrade of the building’s electrical systems and the fitting of low emissivity glass windows.

The interior palate of the rooftop requires minimal maintenance, with its polished concrete flooring, painted plaster partitions and steel fittings. The rooftop farm will also see exterior lighting and new signage fitted, with the building being kitted out with energy efficient lighting within its corridors and low consumption bathroom fittings.

As a result of urban farming across the city, many food retailers can now easily source local produce to their stores and offer fresh, high-quality produce to their customers.