Characteristics of Smart Farms for Architectural Planning and Design

Abstract

In the 21st century, humanity is facing unprecedented climate and food crises caused by population growth, urbanization, environmental pollution, and carbon emissions. As a response to the climate and food crisis, the following concept has emerged: smart urban agriculture that can reduce carbon emissions from buildings and achieve self-sufficiency in food. Various architectural designs that include smart farms are being explored worldwide. Nevertheless, the concept does not seem to have gained sufficient popular traction. This study attempted to materialize the concept by presenting types and characteristics from an architectural planning and design perspective by examining cases of smart farm constructions worldwide. After collecting 171 smart farm cases from around the world and building a database in terms of city, architecture, environment, and crops, the types were classified through SOM analysis, an artificial neural network-based cluster analysis methodology. As a result of the analysis, smart farm types were classified into seven types, and the characteristics of architectural planning and design were extracted for each type. It is meaningful that a specific form was presented so that planning and design can be easily accessed according to the situation placed through the type of smart farm.

Eco-Friendly Technology Derivation and Planning for Rooftop Greenhouse Smart Farm

“…There are a variety of smart farm architecture types. Shon et al collected cases of Korean and overseas smart farms and classified their architectural features into seven types based on urban/suburban location, building scale, growth space density, applied location, use of natural light, and degree of smart technology utilization [44]. It is easier to secure land in suburban regions than in urban regions; therefore, suburban smart farms are often operated at a large scale, and these are divided into glass greenhouses that utilize sunlight and factory-type smart farms that do not receive sunlight but uniformly control the environment.…”