The pilot sites within the framework of the Interreg NWE project GROOF have different targets and opportunities to develop synergies of energy and material flows between the buildings and the rooftop greenhouses. This article provides an overview on such potentials for the pilot site of Les Fermes de Gally in France. The key research objective was to identify the CO2 reduction potentials through the energy flows: for example, constructing a greenhouse with high energy efficiency, using waste heat from the building, mounting a PV-plant to generate additional energy for the greenhouse etc. The reason for this is that the energy consumption has a high potential to reduce the GHG emissions in the protected vegetable production. This result is the outcome of “The Deliverable 2.1: Reference framework & baseline analysis (U. Kirschnick and K. Wilhelm)” Read More
Our consortium is glad to announce that GROOF capitalisation initiative has been approved by the Interreg NWE programme. Our new initiative is all about supporting more sustainable greenhouse projects through an individual and collective coaching. We will support your project’s development to increase your chances of success and improve its potential of CO2 saving! For this call, any sustainable greenhouse project in connection to a building or a city can apply, our scope is not exclusive to rooftop projects anymore. Read More
On Tuesday April 20, from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm, The IFSB-Institut de Formation Sectoriel du Bâtiment offers a Master Class Webinar on the theme: "This is not a greenhouse !" Read More
Who do you think can benefit from the lessons learned from the GROOF project?
Architects, building owners, projects and project developers in urban agriculture and city planners. They can see the benefits and challenges of the implementation of iRTGs. In this project phase, students as well as interns can become part of the project already during their bachelor’s degree and learn directly from the GROOF’s progress and challenges. Read More
The experience of GROOF partners in coaching professional urban agriculture projects reveals that, although these projects have multiplied in recent years, the definition of a viable economic model remains complex for some projects, as the activities of education and resale of the project's own productions sometimes prove to be unprofitable. Among the existing solutions to improve the economic viability of such projects, the diversification of income sources based on peri-urban or rural agriculture is a good alternative. Discover below, four urban agriculture projects with rooftop greenhouses that have managed to innovate and multiply partnerships with peri-urban or rural farmers to consolidate their economic model. A collaborative motivation that is beneficial for urban agriculture and more broadly, useful for addressing the resilience challenges of cities of the future. Read More
GROOF experts led by IfaS worked on the design of the pilots from the beginning. Today, IfaS produced a very detailed and technical report about the design of ULG and IFSB's pilots. Have a look at the data and the technical choices made by the partners in this article. Read More
On September 23rd, Groof project participated in the inauguration of the Walloon platform in urban agriculture, WASABI, in Gembloux at the Centre of Research in Urban Agriculture (CRAU) of the University of Liège! This event has gathered over 200 specialists of urban agriculture, online and offline, for a full day of master classes and guiding tours of the different sites. In the presence of His Majesty King Philippe of Belgium and the Minister of Agriculture and Economy, Willy Borsus. Read More
Part I: Reducing the energy loss in the building.
Installing a rooftop greenhouse not only gives us the opportunity to build a future proof and reliant urban farm, it also helps a lot with saving energy in multiple areas in the support building and the area around the greenhouse.
This is the first article in a series of three parts, concerning mainly the energy loss reduction in the support building due to the greenhouse installation. The next two parts will cover the circular economy of material flows and the greenhouse as an energy collector. Read More
Article paru dans le journal Le Soir en Belgique - Le projet européen « Greenhouse to reduce CO2 on roofs » (Groof) vise à réduire les émissions de CO2 en milieu urbain en combinant récupération de l’énergie et production locale de végétaux dans une serre sur toit – une zone rarement exploitée sur les bâtiments en ville. Read More
Who do you think can benefit from the lessons learned from the GROOF project?
The most benefits from the GROOF project can be obtained for professional or semi-professional food producers who are already established and can fall back on knowledge in the field. The GROOF project can add a lot of expertise on top that how a project can be adapted on a rooftop. Furthermore, even non-rooftop urban farms as well as classical horticulture businesses outside of cities can profit from the large knowledgebase laid out by the GROOF experts. Read More
