Hyperions – Futuristic City Made of Utopic Vertical Farms

The six garden towers are like a vertical village with a high social, cultural and use mix (Amlankusum, Agroecologist, Jaypee | Vincent Callebaut Architectures, Paris)

Indian agroecologist Amlankusum and Paris-based Vincent Callebaut Architectures have an extraordinary and futuristic but not unrealistic vision. It is called Hyperions. The set of six 36-story towers or rather ‘vertical farms’, each 128 meters tall, is connected by common green spaces and walkways. This green vision is set to be completed in by 2022 near New Delhi, India.

The vertical eco-neighborhood called Hyperions produces more energy than it consumes

The six garden towers can be seen as a vertical village with a high social, cultural and use mix. The flexible, evolutionary spaces dedicated to business incubators, living labs, coworking spaces, multi-purpose rooms and concierge services are located behind the solar facades.

The apartments, as well as student housing, open onto cascading hydroponic balconies. The furnishings are made of natural materials such as sandalwood and tamarind. They are provided by local recycling shops, cabinetmakers and fab labs.

The towers of Hyperions are built with cross-laminated timber and are covered with orchard gardens

The façades of the towers are wrapped by blue-colored, photovoltaic and thermal scales. They are able to follow the sun from East to West. In this way, it is possible to produce hot water and artificial lighting for Hyperion. It is intended to recharge the electric vehicles in real time by the solar façades.

Producing wooden materials requires less energy and is less polluting than standard materials like steel or concrete. By substituting these materials with wood, it is possible to avoid the emission of up to 1.1 tons of carbon dioxide per cubic meter. Between its CO₂-sequestrating capacity during its growth phase and its low-emission manufacturing processes, one cubic meter of wood is able to save two tons of carbon dioxide.

Amlankusum outlines, “As for me, as an agroecologist, I suggested that the project be covered with a genuine, virtuous feeding ecosystem based on organic aquaponics. Thus, carrots, tomatoes, spinach, saffron and coriander grow in light substrates made of clay balls on each apartment’s balcony and in hydroponic greenhouses. They are irrigated with water from ponds breeding several species of fish, whose excrement is naturally rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. In these organic fish farms promoting mixed farming, we also find mollusks and crustaceans filtering and grazing the organic micro-waste. This vertical farming gives residents some food autonomy while saving on the land. Our food is produced mostly on-site or in neighboring agroforestry fields. We also manage to save up to 90% of our water needs, since it circulates in a closed loop via small pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES) plants.”

“We the “Urban Farmers” claim that converting worldwide agriculture into organic techniques and bio-sourced construction could reduce worldwide CO2 emissions by about 40% by 2030. Hyperions is a sustainable agro-ecosystem project capable of resisting climate change thanks to its healthy economic and environmental ecosystems.”, he adds.