AWARD YEAR
2015
CATEGORY
Community
GOALS
Life On Land
KEYWORDS
environment, greenhouse, farming
COUNTRY
Italy
DESIGNED BY
Pnat and Studiomobile
WEBSITE
http://www.pnat.net/jellyfish-barge/
JELLYFISH BARGE
A floating agricultural greenhouse able to purify water using solar energy
Jellyfish Barge is a module for crop cultivation that doesn’t rely on soil, fresh water and chemical energy consumption. It is built with low-cost technologies and simple materials, also appropriate to the self-construction paradigm. It consists of a wooden base of about 70 square meters that floats on recycled plastic drums and supports a glass greenhouse for crop cultivation. Inside the greenhouse, a high-efficiency hydroponic cultivation method provides up to 70% of water savings compared to traditional hydroponic systems. Required water is supplied by 7 solar desalination units arranged around the perimeter that are able to produce up to 150 liters per day of clean fresh water from salt, brackish, or polluted water. Solar distillation is a natural phenomenon: in the seas, the sun’s energy evaporates water, which then falls as rain water. The solar desalination system of the Jellyfish Barge replicates this phenomenon on a smaller scale.