Dordrecht – Netherlands
Courtyard
No Sun / No Soil / No Slaughter When was the last time you ate meat? Are you aware of all the constrains that come along our average meat consumption? Did you know that the way agriculture developed over the last century to become the highly efficient industry of today, is producing a mayor part of GHG emissions, forest clearing and bio diversity extinction? Not to mention the animal cruelty happening in connection with livestock farming. When was the last time you have been to a farm, actually visited the facility where your food is being produced, regardless whether its meat or vegetables, or might you’ve never done that? This project embraces the technological progress in the agricultural industry, aiming to understand the relationship of it with the built environment. Thereby the connection of everyday life with the industry is crucial.
Scientists and Industry working on the 4th Agricultural Revolution encounter not just technical but also social issues while developing. Legislative discussions about whether or not a vegetarian Burger should be called Burger, since there is no meat involved, is literally a topic in the European Parliament. In the development of Cell Based or Clean Meat the “Yuck”- factor is being discussed. The ever changing names of the product from In Virto to now Clean or Cell Based Meat is a result of this discourse about how to avoid people from being disgusted. Both momentums, the undefined typological built context of the technical facilities plus the interest within the industry to gain a certain society acceptance create an interesting architectural momentum where the industry and the society meet. The project is about these two components and their bond aiming for sensual layers to experience the product and production process within the context of a circular machine embedded in the urban context of Dordrecht. The settlement of a new industry which eventually has the potential to reconfigure a tremendous amount of space, currently occupied by conventional state of the art agriculture, with effectively compensating the demand of food on our plates is only one advantage. Which when applied to certain conditions namely fresh water supply, circular energy source, shipping and urban infrastructure can bring a mayor shift in land use of agricultural space around the world. Whether that will be beneficial for the environment and reduce pollution depends on the utilisation of these technologies, if they will be designed in a circular metabolic manner or not. In Germany we have a saying – “Was der Farmer nicht kennt, frisst er nicht.” which directly translates to something like – “What the farmer does not know, he will not eat.”. In a way this is what this project is trying to do: make the farmer (us all) aware that the cultivation of food, whether its cultured meat or indoor vertically grown crops, essentially is nothing new, nor its it something to be afraid about. Dairy products, brewed beverages and bred vegetables are part of our everyday life for thousands of years. So come taste and let us make food great again!
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Veggie Tunnel
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