Public Funding for Architecture and Food Limited

Funding is sought to cover the costs of a comprehensive, proof-of-market study to evaluate the practical and commercial viability of retrofitting horticultural rooftop greenhouses on the social housing blocks of the Lydford Estate in W9 to be operated as a new company to be named Lydford Estate Rooftop Greenhouses (LERG). Architecture & food (A&f) and CityWest Homes (CWH), the estate management company owned by and responsible for the City of Westminster’s social housing stock, selected Lydford for its 5,000sqm of production area over 13 separate blocks, low-rise massing, flat roofscape and significant amount of surrounding interstitial space. It was identified through A&f's ongoing London Rooftop Farm Survey which has identified further sites for Building Integrated Agriculture, (BIA) and will inform the replicability of the model. LERG will employ soil-less, high-productivity growing technology, harness natural light and incentivise the recovery and conversion of food waste through anaerobic digestion into solid and liquid fertiliser, and biogas for local use. Rainwater harvesting infrastructure will capture a further feedstock, diverting significant waste streams from municipal sewers and landfills. Community-led initiatives designed to raise resident food literacy, promote greater community cohesion and facilitate healthier, more sustainable, vegetable-centric eating patterns through programs that work symbiotically with the commercial operation occupying the roofscape, will be explored. The study will include resident, structural and M+E surveys alongside comprehensive market analysis and clear direction on the most appropriate models of implementation. It will explore several models of ownership, from roof-space rental models to equity partnerships including the estate itself, where dividends are paid in the form of subsidised fresh produce to residents. Business plans will be evaluated for delivery on both economic and social objectives