Brandon Martella’s Live Share Grow Vertical Farm Could Generate 10% of San Diego’s Produce

California may be one of the major produce growers in the US, but a lot of that food is consumed within the state - the 30,000+ residents of the urban core of San Diego alone eat 21,231,000 lbs of produce each year. To address the daunting issue of future food production, Southern California designer <a href="http://www.brandonmartella.net/" target="_blank">Brandon Martella</a> has designed a vertical farm and residential tower for downtown San Diego. Situated right next to the convention center, <a href="http://www.brandonmartella.net/p/live-share-grow.html" target="_blank">Live Share Grow</a> could provide up to 10% of the city's produce and enhance the community with vibrant live/work spaces.

<a href="http://www.brandonmartella.net/p/live-share-grow.html" target="_blank">Live Share Grow</a> is a proposal by Brandon Martella for a combo residential tower and vertical farm for downtown San Diego.

The multi-story tower is dual purpose - one side is holds residential apartments in varying sizes, while the other is a large-scale hydroponic vertical farm.

Located in a popular area amidst other residential towers, offices, tourist attractions and very close to the bay, Live Share Grow would be sited to contribute to the larger community.

aste, grey water and black water can all be redeemed through recycling, grey water infused aquaponics, and black water compact combustion to create thermal energy.

The tower would also provide new opportunities for education, commerce and healthy living.

Site plan and elevations of Live Share Grow.

Site plan within San Diego.

Cross section of Live Share Grow.

According to the FDA, the average American alone consumes 707.7lbs of fruits and vegetables each year and the residents of San Diego consume 21,310,000 lb a year.

Martella's tower would provide enough space to group about 532,000 lbs of produce every 3 months.

This is approximately 10% of the produce the city consumes - a sizable portion of the city's needs and produced in a sustainable and local facility.

Cross section of a typical apartment in Live Share Grow.

The produce sold through the open air market would contribute towards the local economy serving residents and restaurants a like, while providing jobs to local residents, even residents that live inside the tower.