SAMGA Grain Silo is an old monumental brick building situated in the harbor near the city center of Antwerp. Three types of building blocks have been developed to enable the repurposing of the monumental SAMGA Grain Silo for urban agriculture and Vertical Farming:
1. Automated daylight-free Vertical Farming of leafy vegetables to approximately 10,000 m2 of cultivation area in the vertical shaft of the building.
2. Single and multi-layer crops under hybrid lighting on the horizontal attic or new roof greenhouse.
3. And unheated, daylight-free cultivation of mushrooms and chicory in the horizontal cellar. The business case focuses on a hyper-local premium product that distinguishes itself through circular production with reuse of urban energy and waste flows. The new Dakserre is a contemporary culmination of the monumental grain silo and stands out as a proud icon for Vertical Farming on the Antwerp skyline.
"Vertical Farming offers the possibility to produce directly at logistics centers in the vicinity of the city. This offers many advantages for the transport distance, the quality and continuity of fresh fruit and vegetables."
The trade in fresh fruit and vegetables has grown into a global network. Large-scale greenhouse horticulture locations supply the (mega)cities all year round from various (climate) parts of the world via logistics centers. The great distances and many transport movements determine the quality, continuity and cost price of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Vertical Farming offers the possibility to produce directly at logistics centers in the vicinity of the city. This offers many advantages for the transport distance, the quality and continuity of fresh fruit and vegetables. Vertical farming makes it possible to supply Supreme Quality all year round. This concerns the production of various leafy vegetables for retail and specials such as cresses and herbs for retail and catering. Vertical Farming is also increasingly becoming an alternative to imported products because of quality and continuity.
In addition, there is an emerging market for hyper-fresh and hyper-local in the middle and high segment of the large cities. The automation of Vertical Farming makes it possible, for example, to connect on-demand to small-scale restaurant orders via inner-city distribution that is smart and sustainable. This value proposition is possibly best suited for urban development locations.
