Vertical Farms , Italien

 

YAC s.r.l.

Young Architects Competitions

Via Borgonuovo 5,

40125 Bologna, Italia

 

in collaboration with

Manni Group

 

Despite being mechanized, shaped by genetic experimentation, and increasingly less sustainable, agriculture remains, in the collective imagination, associated with a rural ideal of harmony and balance with nature.

 

Until today.

 

Regardless of its perceptions, traditional agriculture is showing major limitations in light of present-day challenges. Population growth, and thus the need for more and more crops, are in fact triggering a global crisis in the availability of fertile soil and food products.

 

This is where vertical farms come into play: impressive buildings, where cultivation towers lit by artificial light, use technology to force natural processes. In a few thousand square metres, they can replicate the output of hectares of land and numerous seasonal cycles.

 

What identity should be given to the machine-buildings of the future, which will be key to global power? And what form should be designed for a new archetype that will become a common feature of the urban landscape?

 

This is the question posed by Vertical Farms, the competition by YAC and Manni Group, aimed at laying the foundations for future reflection on how to nourish the planet, and thus continuing to write the history of the ancient miracle that has always fascinated and sustained mankind: agriculture.

 

YAC would like to thank all the designers who will take up this challenge.

 

Early Bird Registration (€ 65 / team): Feb 24, 2025 – Mar 23, 2025

Standard Registration (€ 85 / team): Mar 24, 2025 – Apr 20, 2025

Late Registration (€ 115 / team): Apr 21, 2025 – May 18, 2025

Material Submission Deadline: May 21, 2025

Jury Summoning: Jun 3, 2025

Results Announcement: Jul 7, 2025

 

Mauro Zamarian, ZERO

Enrico Frizzera, MANNI GROUP

Andreas Tjeldflaat, FRAMLAB

Ming-Jen Hsueh, SASAKI

Arne Emerson, MORPHOSIS

Paul Woolford, HOK

Fokke Moerel, MVRDV

 

1st Prize: € 5000

2nd Prize: € 3000

3rd Prize: € 2000

 

Gold Mention Manni Sipre - Manni Green Tech “The power of steel”: € 1000

Gold Mention Manni Sipre - Manni Green Tech “Aesthetics that Lasts”: € 1000

Gold Mention Isopan “Fortelia Flat roof Solutions”: € 1000

Gold Mention Isopan “ADDMIRA Renovation”: € 1000

Gold Mention ROCKWOOL “Fire Safety”: € 1000

 

Honorable Mentions: 10

Finalist Mentions: 30