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Ark Farm Grows Food Amid Climate Collapse

The prototype isn't combating climate change, but rolling with the punches.

N-ARK is a Japanese startup that wants to reinvent architecture and combat climate change, although their latest concept is less of a battle and more rolling with the punches.

The company created a concept they call Arktecture, a combination of culture, technology and arks. The startup says the exploding population and an increasing threat from climate change will pose a real threat to urban areas by the end of the century. 

N-ARK says we'll need more salt-tolerant technology as a society and is creating a prototype, Green Ocean, that combines seawater farming technology — which uses seawater as a nutrient source — and floating construction technology. The project hopes to be on the water as soon as 2022.

The concept calls for greenrooms both above and below sea level. Above the water will be a greenhouse used for food production. A room below the surface will grow algae. The design calls for thinned wood as the building material and carbon joints to make it salt-resistant. The carbon coating will also make it more buoyant. 

The roof's v-shape is designed for rainwater collection. According to N-ARK, the rainwater will be mixed with seawater, pH adjustment and dilution rate adjuster to make fertilizer. The room is also cooled, and the temperature is maintained using seawater. 

N-ARK has partnered with fellow startup Cartivera to patent their particular seawater agriculture technology. Cartivera will work on seawater agricultural tech and crop development.

The technology is a take on aeroponics that they call moisture culture technology. Moisture culture cultivates under humidity control. The approach uses about 5 mm of soil and 15 mm of a unique fiber to replace natural soil. The plants are fed a mix of nutrients using a water mist that only calls for about one-tenth of the water required in conventional farming.

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