#agritecture

“Tropicalia” is a single-domed tropical greenhouse being built near northern France’s Opal Coast. It will span over 215,000 square feet and be covered by a massive, air-filled plastic barrier to protect it from the outside world. Inside, lush vegetation will dominate the ground and visitors will travel along a walking path that measures nearly three-quarters of a mile long.

Tropicalia will be a marriage of science and business. The facility will serve scientists in various research efforts, and staff will be on hand to ensure the flora and fauna are living their best lives. At the same time, the building will host tourists who can dine at its upscale restaurant and stay in the built-in hotel.

“This unique place will contain a diverse range of fauna and flora, butterflies, exotic flowers, hummingbirds, waterfalls, aquarium basins, fish, turtles, caimans and more,” its creators explain “Beyond the eminently exotic interior world, the sensation of complete immersion is made possible with the innovative architectural approach.”

The fact that it is being built in northern France, which regularly dips near the freezing point in the winter, highlights the technical achievement that the structure will be once completed. Walking from a frosty parking lot to a tropical jungle in a matter of minutes will definitely be an interesting experience for visitors.

Excretions from the fish can increase the toxicity of the water, but this water is fed to the plant system, where bacteria turn the by-products intro nutrients for the plants. The water is purified by the time it returns to the aquatic system at the end of the closed cycle.

Varinot & Varinot Architectes, a firm based in France, wants to apply this closed loop model to hotels by recycling rainwater throughout the building. The circulation would provide water to aquariums, flowers, and vertical produce farms within the hotel.

Have a look at their unique designs:

A rooftop restaurant would serve local food, and breeding tanks on different floors would feature sturgeons, crawfish, tilapia, trout, and more. 

The hotel's vertical cultures would include mushrooms, tomatoes, eggplant, melons, lettuce, strawberries, and grapes.

From homemade caviar to vegetable salads and crawfish dishes, the architects say the hotel's production of fish and produce could each feed 60 people per day.

The architects' proposal calls for a modular design that could adapt to different skylines around the world. It could be a smaller building in Paris or a tall tower in New York, for example.