This is a project about fish farming. Why? Because it is an interesting way to answer some actual environmental issues. Like overfishing, which threatens a lot of sea species with extinction. Growing fish in farms can limit the problem even if it doesn’t solve it (there always are some problems with the fish food). Furthermore, the possibility to produce in the cities makes the production closer to the customer. That limits the carbon emission due to transport and increased the quality of the product. So it can be a more sustainable and local way to produce fish.
The idea is to specialize the production in the salmon. Because it is one of the most popular fish and because he adapts well to the rearing condition. The fish production begin with the fish’s eggs. They are purchased from specialized breeding. Then, from the hatching to the sixth month, the fish are in the same pond. Separate from the adults, because they are carnivorous fish and they can threaten the small salmon. When they pass 6 months they change pools the time they are big enough to be captured. The fish are harvested when they pass 3.5 kilograms. The next step is to prepare the fish in the kitchen. For that, you have first to remove the scales, second the fins, then the entrails and cut it into fillets. A part of the production is also smoke. The idea is to have a business specialized in one product but to offer a lot of different ways to consume it. The customers can buy fillets, entire fish, and smoked salmon in the fish shop or eat tasty sushi in the specialized restaurant.
This system determined the typology of the building. The ponds for fish are on different floors, in the passageway. The one for young fish is on the top and the one for the elder is below. It is a continuous and long pool. That allows salmon to travel a longer distance than in a classical system. It’s better for their health. The functions related to the transformation of the fish are gathered in the central part.
There is the kitchen, the smoke house and some storage for the final product before the sale. The sale part is in the ground floor to be connected with the public space and the potential customers.
But, that’s not all. There is also a residential part in the building for the farm workers. The private parts are on the sides (it includes bedroom, bathrooms living room). But the functions related to the cooking, the kitchen, and the dining room are shared by all the residents. That create a community atmosphere. And these spaces are the same used for production so the line between work and everyday life is blurred.
About the implantation of the project in the neighbourhood. The building crosses the road so the inner court is a part of the public space. It‘s a place of passing and also a nice place for the neighbour with the shop, the restaurant, and a nice atmosphere due to the presence of plants, water, and fish.
To finish, few words about the details of the hydraulic system. As I said the pond link all the floors together: which creates a current. So the system needs pomp. To limit the energy due to its working, the water flow is limited by a fish ladder (in the slope part). The water also needs to be filtered. For that, we use an aquaponic system: the plant will take the nutriment produced by the fish and clean up the water that way. This system needs a solid filter to remove the biggest particles which can block the system. Then, there are the pomp and the biofilter. The last one favor the presence of bacteria. They are necessary to turn ammoniac into nitrate. However, this filter is not needed in all aquaponics systems. as we used a method of growing bed it’s not necessary.