A development in Denmark looks to use agricultural waste to help power its buildings

Argo Food Park is a center for food and agricultural innovation in Aarhus, Denmark that sits on about 250 acres of land. A new masterplan from William McDonough + Partners and 3XN/GXN has presented a proposal to develop the area into an urban environment that promotes innovation, knowledge sharing, and interaction between companies.

Farm fields surround the buildings located in the food park, and the proposal takes that into consideration, using the plant waste and manure from these farms as part of the new system design, fastcoexist.com reports. The proposal links the buildings for farm operations and office space in order to get enough heat or energy from the farm components to provide power for some of the buildings. The use of manure, biogas, and other farm waste will be used to power buildings and will be scaled up as new buildings are built.

The five main focus areas for the development are healthy materials, clean energy, increased biodiversity, healthy air, and clean water. “A carbon positive city demonstration at The Agro Food Park can be the embodiment of this new century—its clean water, air, soils and energy serving as a continuous source of economic and ecological innovation and regeneration, redefining how we act now for a positive future,” says William McDonough, FAIA, Int. FRIBAA, on the McDonough + Partners website.

The Argo Food Park proposal includes three primary spatial and landscape concepts called ‘The Strip,’ ‘The Plazas,’ and ‘The Lawn.’

The Strip acts as Argo Food Park’s main street. It is a street with open facades and shared amenities where the park’s companies can display their products and identities. It is built to be walkable and very pedestrian friendly.

The Plazas are a series of plazas meant to give local character to the surrunding buildings.

The Lawn is a central green space. It is meant to showcase the innovative and experimental happenings within the city’s agriculture and food production.

Currently, the masterplan calls for the work to be completed over four phases.

Image courtesy of 3XN/GXN

A guide focusing on the critical role of grid interactivity in building decarbonization was recently published by ASHRAE. The Grid-Interactive Buildings for Decarbonization: Design and Operation Resource Guide provides information on maximizing carbon reduction through buildings’ interaction with the electric power grid.