JELLYFISH BARGE

Stefano Mancuso, director of the International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology at the University of Florence, presented to the public the prototype of Jellyfish Barge born from an idea by Antonio Girardi and Cristiana Favretto (Studiomobile) and which, thanks also to the sponsorship of Veneto Vetro, is now floating on the Navicelli canal between Pisa and Livorno.

Jellyfish Barge is a floating agricultural greenhouse, capable of purifying brackish or polluted water using solar energy. Designed in a relatively small size to be able to support two families, and to be easy to build, even in difficult economic conditions. However, it is modular, so a single element is completely autonomous, while several barges placed side by side create a stronger and more resistant organism.

On a planet where resources are increasingly scarce, how will the food that communities need be produced, where will we find the necessary water and where will we find new areas for cultivation?
A multidisciplinary team of architects and botanists proposes a revolutionary answer to these questions. Jellyfish Barge is a floating agricultural greenhouse that produces food without consuming land, fresh water and energy. Designed to vulnerable communities to the scarcity of water and food, the structure is built with simple technology and recycled materials and low cost.
Jellyfish Barge is a multidisciplinary project coordinated by Professor Stefano Mancuso of the University of Florence, director of the International Laboratory of Neurobiology Plant (LINV www.linv.org) and designed by the architects Cristiana Favretto and Antonio Girardi (Studiomobile www.studiomobile.org).
The working prototype, created by LINV (University of Florence) thanks to the glass of Veneto Vetro and the contribution of the Fondazione Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze and the Tuscany Region, is installed in the Navicelli canal, between Pisa and Livorno.

The reference scenario

The World Bank estimates for 2050 a nearby planet's population to 10 billion people and a consequent global demand for food increased by 60-70% compared to today. Be able to meet this growing need in a reasonable food, without unduly affecting the existing resources at the moment seems to be a goal difficult to achieve, mainly because of the scarcity of water and land available for cultivation. Much of the potentially arable land is concentrated in a few geographical areas, while many nations of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, high population growth, have already reached or are close to reaching the limits of the availability of agricultural land.

Agriculture, using the 70% of the fresh water on the planet, is the human activity that weighs more on existing water resources. In many areas of the world such as India, Pakistan and in southern Spain, the increasing demand for water for agricultural purposes is satisfied extraction from underground reservoirs, consumed at a faster pace than the rainfall they return.

In many areas of the Middle East, however, water is obtained through energy-intensive industrial desalination processes. The scarcity of water and land available for agriculture will likely be increased by climate change. Rising sea levels, for example, will contribute to the inundation of ever-larger swathes of fertile land with salt water. This phenomenon has already begun to occur with worrying frequency throughout the Bay of Bengal.

The project

Jellyfish Barge is a modular built greenhouse on floating platform able to provide water and food security by providing food and water without impacting on existing resources. The structure, constructed with low cost materials, assembled with simple and easily realizable technologies, is composed of a wooden base of about 70 m² that floats on the recycled plastic drums, and by a glass greenhouse supported by a wooden structure .

Fresh water is supplied by solar desalination plants located around the perimeter, designed by environmental scientist Paolo Franceschetti. These can produce up to 150 liters of clean fresh water per day from salt, brackish or polluted water. Solar distillation is a natural phenomenon: in the seas, the sun's energy evaporates water, which then falls back as rainwater. In Jellyfish Barge, the desalination system replicates this natural phenomenon on a small scale, sucking in humid air and condensing it in drums in contact with the cold surface of the sea.

The little energy needed to run the fans and pumps is provided by systems that exploit renewable energy, integrated into the structure. The greenhouse incorporates an innovative hydroponic cultivation system. Hydroponics is a cultivation technique above ground that guarantees water savings of up to 70% compared to traditional cultures, thanks to the continuous reuse of water. Jellyfish Barge also uses approximately 15% sea water that is mixed with distilled water, ensuring even greater water efficiency. The complex functioning of the cultivation system is guaranteed by an automation system with remote monitoring and control.

Jellyfish Barge was designed to support about two families, therefore it is specially small in size to make its construction simple and feasible even in conditions of economic hardship. It is modular, so a single element is completely autonomous, while several greenhouses side by side can guarantee food safety for an entire community. The octagonal shape of the platform allows different modules to be placed side by side by connecting them with simple floating bases with a square base, which can become markets and meeting places for a small community on the water.

The team

Jellyfish Barge will be produced by PNAT Ltd. (www.pnat.net), a spin-off of the University of Florence. The team is composed of the director of LINV Stefano Mancuso, by researchers Camilla Pandolfi, Azzarello Elisa, Elisa Masi and architects Cristiana Favretto and Antonio Girardi, founders of Studiomobile. PNAT is the first think tank born in Italy where they interface design, science and biology to study creative and technological solutions to the issues left over from sustainability: in a planet with finite resources, how to ensure food security, water accessibility and the resilience of communities to environmental changes?

See all images of the project >

Coordination: Prof. Stefano Mancuso
Cultivations: Camilla Pandolfi, Elisa Azzarello and Elisa Masi

Project: Cristiana Favretto and Antonio Girardi

With the contribution of: 
Savings Bank of Florence and Tuscany Region
Venetian Glass for the supply of glass https://www.venetovetro.com/

Information:
www.studiomobile.org
www.pnat.net
www.linv.org