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Aquaponics in the City

Part 1 Project 2015
Alexander Bradley
University of Nottingham Nottingham | UK
Recently rejected office and retail based proposals for the currently disused General Market Building in Smithfield Market, London, have divided opinions and generated great controversy in the press. It is my intention to utilise the engaging and highly efficient farming method of Aquaponics to revitalise this recently neglected, but potentially majestic Victorian structure.
Aquaponics combines the farming of aquatic animals with the cultivation of plants in water enriched by nutrients from the fish’s waste. The scheme involves the farming, selling and eating of Aquaponic produce whilst aiming to educate the public about its vast potential to grow organic food within a city, free of transport miles.
The General Market, which previously provided fruit and vegetables to the capital, sits on the central axis of the low lying Smithfield Market and utilises a similar material palette and vertical rhythm. Treatment of the structure required a sensitive response to the area’s deep, historical context, combined with an understanding of the building’s layers of previous restoration and current disrepair. New visual connections from the street enticingly reveal the General Market’s new function and additional structures, luring in passers-by. A sunken courtyard embraces my desire to connect the public with nature within the city.


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2015
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