3 October 2024 News

DDW24: CircleFarm

In What if Lab Totally Local (2022), Floris Schoonderbeek developed CircleFarm under the guidance of Sweco. Starting from the design question “What if… our cities were completely full-sufficient?”, Schoonderbeek set to work on the theme ‘Food’.

CircleFarming combines landscape design with innovative farming methods, contributing to a solution for a new Dutch food landscape.

Circle Farming is a form of agriculture that uses the limited space more efficiently. Instead of traditional rectangular fields filled with monocultures, it uses regenerative strip farming of various crops in circular patterns. “The arm that moves in circles is ideal for collaboration between people, tools, and robotics.” The spaces between the circles can also be used for housing and forestry.

In 2024, CircleFarming was implemented during the growing season on a trial plot at Wageningen University & Research (WUR). The robotic arm was further developed as a tool.

Read more about the finished What if Lab: Totally Local and the developed concepts of the other designers here.

CircleFarming in Evoluon © about.today
CircleFarming op DDW23

Designing Society

Dutch Design Foundation will exhibit ‘Designing Society’ during Dutch Design Week 2024 (DDW24) in Eindhoven, an exhibition on the Ketelhuisplein of over 600m2 that invites visitors to discover fresh perspectives on possible futures. Based on various themes, discover how we as a society can connect the power of design to the complex challenges of today and tomorrow. About 40 projects from What if Lab, World Design Embassies and PONT depict a world addressing today’s questions and exploring a promise for a better future. Caring Neighbourhoods is one of those projects.