Integrating Vertical Farms To Mixed-Use Commercial Residential Condominium To Establish Sustainable Vertical Communities In Davao City

The human population has been growing at least at the rate of 1.2% annually since 1960 reachingup to 6.4B in 2002 and more than 7.0B in 2012. In Davao City, the annual population growth rate is running at 3.22%in year 1990, at 2.41% last 2007 and recently in 2013 at 2.36%. The alarming problem we confront today is thatthe increase in land area for human use does not expand in proportion to population density increase. It is the aim ofthis study to address the future problems on land and food shortage through the efficient integration of vertical farmson mixed-use multi-storied commercial-residential buildings in Davao City in order to provide income generatingcondominiums and produce organic crops for residents in an urban setting. The result of the computations showedthat the integration of farms to mixed-use residential-commercial buildings in Davao City is highly feasible. Thegross profit is highest using gross floor area percentage ratio combination of 50:5:20 for residential, commercial andvertical farm units respectively. (i.e., 50% of the building’s gross floor area should be allotted to residential units, 5%to commercial units, and 20% to farm units). Moreover the gross profit and ROI of the 50:5:20 gross floor area ratioalso generated the highest which amounted to Php 1,785,316,198.00B compared to only Php 501,045,100.00M forthe typical commercial-residential buildings in five years. This research has mainly focused on the integration ofhydroponics, but the inclusion of aquaponic farms in vertical structures can also be further explored.

Keywords:

Vertical Farms , Muti-Storey , Sustainable , Vertical Communities , Gross Floor Area , Percentage Ratio