As the program for my thesis project is developing into an mixed use building that will celebrate the cycle of food, from growing to consumption to soil renewal, I’ve found inspiration in a building in Chicago called The Plant. It is a building seeking to do much of the same thing, combining aquaponics (a closed loop system with fish and plants that feed off the others wastes) a bakery, a brewery and restaurant, combucha factory, and rooftop farm, in addition to a shared kitchen. The Plant is operated under a what’s called a social enterprise model. This means there is a non-profit and for-profit side, but both are aimed at socially and environmentally responsible goals.  It is repurposing a former meatpacking plant situated at the border between an industrial and a residential district outside of the downtown. The building seeks to close as many of the waste loops as possible, for instance feeding the spent grains from beer brewing to the tilapia fish in the aquaponics operation. At the center of this is an anaerobic digester that will process organic waste from the building and surrounding neighborhood. This will produce bio-gas which will be burned in a turbine cogeneration powerplant which will produce electricity and steam heat for the building.

Photos:  www.plantchicago.com