Antonio Girardi and Cristiana Favretto

May 30, 2015 / 11:30 IST

Studiomobile’s Jellyfish barge is an innovative solution to food scarcity.

Resources are getting increasingly scarce and traditional agriculture is giving way to hybridized methods of production, we need to look at alternate ways to maximize production that is not land-based. With an aim to create a low-cost alternative solution using recycled materials, Italian designers Antonio Girardi and Cristiana Favretto of Studiomobile have created a floating modular greenhouse. Dubbed Jellyfish Barge for its shape and translucency, this octagonal structure will empower families and communities living in coastal areas to grow their own food, without the need for land. The foundation structure of the Jellyfish Barge is a wooden base, some 70 square metre, which floats on 96 recycled plastic drums. Above water is a glass greenhouse that can be used for cultivation. Here, crops are grown hydroponically (a method that uses mineral nutrient solutions in water) and are nourished with rainwater that is harvested through seven solar stills in a self-sustaining, solar-powered system. The system can collect, process and circulate up to 150l of clean water daily, be it sea water or rainwater.