The Halo Float Farm: Observations in waterborne urbanism
Abstract
Since time immemorial, cities have relied on water (which accounts for 71 per cent of the surface area of the earth) as a means of trade and sustenance. Yet the world’s megacities all exist with the perpetual threat of flooding through rising sea levels. Water may be perceived as a risk, but it also offers an opportunity to re-evaluate a surface area that could relieve pressure from land-hungry energy and food systems while acting as a catalyst for urban regeneration. This paper provides a review of waterborne urbanism concepts, including Pomeroy Studio’s ‘Pod Off-Grid’ (POG), a design research prototype tested in Venice; and its production-scale evolution, the Halo Float Farm (HF²), a floating, closed-loop, waterborne urbanism project deployable in under-utilised docks, ports, and waterways. Contextualised within Singapore’s food and energy resilience policy framework, the modular HF² structure synthesises existing tried-and-tested vertical farming and photovoltaic technologies to help global waterfront cities become more self-sustaining and resilient to climate change, while demonstrating the governance and policy conditions under which productive waterborne urbanism can serve as a tool for waterfront regeneration. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
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Author's Biography
Professor Jason Pomeroy is an award-winning architect, academic, author, and TV presenter, regarded as one of the world’s leading experts in sustainable design. He is the Founder of Singapore-based designers and thought leaders, Pomeroy Studio; educators and researchers, Pomeroy Academy; and digital innovators and solution providers, Pomeroy Technology. Jason’s career has included critically acclaimed green cities, buildings, and landscapes, from the microscale of the first zero-carbon house in Asia, to the macroscale of Indonesia’s ‘Silicon Valley’. He has authored ‘Hardware, Software, Heartware: Digital Twinning for More Sustainable Built Environments’ (2023), ‘Cities of Opportunities: Connecting Culture and Innovation’ (2020), ‘Pod Off-Grid: Explorations into Low Energy Waterborne Communities’ (2016), ‘The Skycourt and Skygarden: Greening the Urban Habitat’ (2014), and ‘Idea House: Future Tropical Living Today’ (2011). He continues to raise cultural awareness of cities through his TV series Smart Cities 2.0, City Time Traveller, Futuropolis, and City Redesign. Jason gained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Canterbury School of Architecture and the University of Cambridge, and a PhD from the University of Westminster. He is a Fellow of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
Rutuja Surana is an Architect and Researcher at Pomeroy Studio, an interdisciplinary sustainable design and research company. She holds a Master of Science degree in integrated sustainable design from the National University of Singapore. Rutuja’s work spans architectural design and research in the field of sustainable design and how sustainable design frameworks can generate better built outcomes. Current research includes the cross-comparison of global sustainability guidelines, the creation of sustainability design codes for the built environment, and the development of proof-of-concepts for waterborne urbanism as an additional consideration to urban communities.
