Summary: We propose converting a long-neglected waterfront site into a Dry Dock Greenhouse. Powered by renewable energy, this new facility will offer public spaces and amenities focused on agricultural produce.
Detailed Description: Built in 1942, this East Boston dry dock is currently occupied by a fuel storage station – not very green. By closing the dock gate, the dry dock can be pumped out and inhabited by new uses. The newly captured volume of below grade space will be covered by a glass canopy. Powered by building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), the greenhouse utilizes vertical farming methods to provide year-round, local, healthy food. Vertical farming uses less land due to an efficient arrangement of plants, organized in either columnar structures or rotating trays. A quarter-acre vertical harvest farm can produce the same number of crops as 40 acres of farmland. The system also uses less water than farming, as it can be recycled and recirculated. The BIPV canopy also produces 56,000KwH/year, enough energy to power about 5.5 houses for a year. The Dry Dock Greenhouse provides a unique urban amenity for the area and transforms an underutilized industrial site into a higher, regenerative use.
