Vertical farm is created in Schlierem Lymhof

Switzerland's first vertical farm integrated into a residential neighborhood is to be built in Schlierem's Lymhof. According to a media release, the agreement signed by site owner Geistlich Immobilia in Schlieren and Zurich-based start-up Yasai for this purpose envisages commissioning of the vertical farm by 2026. In the approximately 8 meters high hall then herbs, leaf lettuces and much more are to be cultivated resource-conserving and pesticide-free and also sold directly on site, it is said further. Yasai is a spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich(ETH).

The farm will be integrated into the residential neighborhood at Rietpark. Directly above the hall will be built duplex apartments with roof garden, according to the statement. There will be various neighborhood amenities such as a bistro, hotel rooms, flexible, small-scale commercial space, and space for neighborhood life, he said.

"With our farm in Schlieren, we will bring food production directly to the people," Mark E. Zahran, co-founder and CEO of Yasai, is quoted as saying. Glass facades will make the hall visible, and there will be peepholes to the "grow chamber" in the heart of the hall, where the herbs grow under protection. The yield per square meter in such a vertical farm is several times higher than in conventional agriculture.

With Yasai, "an innovative and sustainable use has been found for the hall building in the Lymhof," Martin Geistlich, managing director of the site owner Geistlich Immobilia, is quoted as saying. "I envision a colorful, lively piece of the neighborhood," Ladina Esslinger, head of development at Geistlich Immobilia, is quoted as saying. "We want to create an urban place, but not an offshoot of Zurich, but a neighborhood piece that takes existing needs and fits Schlieren." gba