Farming hits the high life

It's space utilization that will harvest a new crop of ideas about urban living. In the concrete jungle, a patch of bountiful greenery seems almost contradictory. Yet, residents in a youth apartment building in downtown Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, have planted the seed from which a new approach to city living is growing, cultivating a unique lifestyle.

They can till their own land, which can be accessed just an elevator ride away to the top of their building. There they can grow vegetables, while socializing with other tenants and taking in the skyline of the city.

Huang Suyun has seen positive changes in her own life since "farming" and other social activities were introduced to the rooftop of the youth apartment building she has managed for the past three years.

The 32-year-old, originally from a small town, gladly provides a sample of the farm produce she has nurtured with her own hands over the past three months. This includes green beans, cucumbers, chilis and eggplants.

"It's very nice to get a change of scenery occasionally by caring for my own plants and chilling out on the rooftop," Huang says.

The harvest then brings a second wave of intense satisfaction.

"It is fulfilling to eat something that you have cultivated yourself, especially knowing it's organic and healthy," Huang says.

Additionally, the experience of tending the gardens allows people to make friends and get to know others who either live in the building or visit from outside.

For the space to plant, tenants need to pay an annual fee of 300 yuan ($44) per square meter.

Those that do, get to live a double life as an urban farmer, regularly watering, fertilizing and managing their own green patch, which offers solace and some rural charm high above the traffic and bustle of the city.

Experts have been invited to give them tips on vegetable planting and pest prevention.

"We also have service personnel who will step in and take care of things when the 'urban farmers' can't handle it," Huang says.

Over the past few months, since the rooftop green space opened, about 20 people have claimed their spots, and Huang has brought them together in a WeChat group.

"They have been very enthusiastic, exchanging notes on vegetable cultivation," Huang says.

"Everyone knows one another better and has thus expanded their social circle."

Events, such as open-air performances, are staged on weekends to spice things up, drawing in residents from the neighborhood who may have the seed of a similar idea planted in their own mind.

"It's really close to my heart," Huang says.

The rooftop garden is one of 10 community gardens whose construction was initiated by the urban management department with the city's Nanshan district last year.

The other gardens are mostly on the ground close to the streets.

The rooftop garden is the only "floating green land" and has turned out to be a success, bringing young people together and enhancing their sense of community.

It is open to the public in the daytime, and visitors only need to register at the reception on the first floor to get access.

The rooftop idyll covers a total area of 450 square meters and consists of a sightseeing zone, a shaded leisure area as well as the urban farming section.

"There's space to exercise, like doing yoga at the leisure zone, and then to walk over to check the vegetables," says Xie Jing, an architect from the Shenzhen-based 11 Architecture, a company which undertook the project.

Xie's company applied a modular design.

Her team had more than 700 plastic logistic containers, each customized as a small plantation. They were all colored green and then arranged to create a variegated landscape that is pleasing to the eye.

Some containers can be covered with a wooden lid to serve as chairs.

"The casing soil in the container is very light, and wouldn't put too much of a burden on the drainage system of the roof," Xie says.

Thanks to the container, the roots of the vegetables will not interfere with the roof's waterproof layer. The porous bottom of each container is laid with filtering layers of ceramic particles and nonwoven fabrics.

"So, when too much water is applied to the plants, or there is heavy rain, the overflow can be purified and is discharged through the original drainage system of the building," Xie says.

The shaded area is also an important part of the rooftop design.

"The summer is smoldering hot in Shenzhen, and exposure to the sun for 10 minutes will be too much," Xie says.

Therefore, the team brought in a modular steel ceiling with solar panels, which ensure both a comfortable respite from the midday sun, while also harvesting solar energy for residents.

Xie estimates that the ceiling will earn its keep after five years.

As for the sightseeing area, plants with small flowers and leaves, as well as thin branches that wave in the breeze, were chosen to create a soft and uplifting experience for visitors.

Xie believes that such roof spaces have great potential in densely populated city areas.

"It can be an appealing site for walks and other activities, and a place to develop a community," she says.

An increasing number of urban residents at home and abroad have started to seek a social life that promotes environmental protection and personal health, which is good news for sustainability and community activity development, experts say.

Resident participation will also reduce daily outlay for roof maintenance, Xie says.

She and her team hope the rooftop garden model can be applied to more buildings in the city.

"After the pandemic, it can be an oasis," she says.

To date, many industrial parks in the city have explored various models of rooftop farming, including a 2,000-square-meter green space on top of a parking lot in Bao'an district of Shenzhen.

Over the years, Wang Jianwen has seen rising demand for arable land in Shenzhen's business areas.

Her company Seeds House has been offering garden construction services for businesses and science parks since 2017.

"Many of our clients have asked for farmable land to be added to their company property, because they want their tenants to have a sense of belonging in the workplace," Wang says.

"Some of these green spaces have been expanding with new species," she adds.

Wang's company offers seeds and technical support for maintenance of these urban farms.

She sees potential in the concept's development.

"It's impossible to do pure agriculture in the city, so it has to be integrated with existing architecture or through another approach," Wang explains.

There's still space available at Huang's building.

She says that she looks forward to seeing more people joining in and exploring the fun of pastoral life together.

In addition to spicing up her life in the city, the rooftop farm has also surprisingly shortened the distance between Huang and her family back in her rural hometown.

"Whenever I call my mom and ask questions about vegetable growing, she is more thrilled than me," Huang says.

"I figure she loves sharing what she knows with me, like what to grow in different seasons, and we feel much closer to each other."