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myNotes
Shaping Up

14 Plants need sunlight to grow. In a vertical
building, the upper levels can cast a
shadow over the lower levels. So designers
are experimenting with shapes that will
allow light to reach all of the growing
spaces.

15 Natalie Jeremijenko, an engineer and
artist, created pod-like greenhouses.

Although they’re called Urban Space
Stations, their job here on Earth is to
provide growing spaces. Each structure’s
clear, curved surface absorbs light as the
sun moves across the building. The pod
also recycles air and water from the
building below. Because it doesn’t need
soil, the station is light enough to be raised
off the ground.

Burrowing Underground

16 What lies beneath our city streets? In
Tokyo, an underground bank vault was
turned into a high- tech farm called Pasona
O2. The farm covers 10,000 square feet
(1,000 square meters) and grows more
than 100 types of produce. It uses a
combination of halide, LED, and fluorescent
lights, as well as hydroponics—raising

crops without soil. With hydroponics,
plants are grown in water containing
nutrient solutions or materials like gravel or
perlite. The word “hydroponics” comes
from the Greek words for water (hydro)
and labor (ponos).
17 In addition to growing food, Pasona
O2 has a very important goal: to create
Rooftop vegetable garden at the convention jobs for youth and older employees who
center in Montreal, Canada
need a second career.

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