New York-based design studio Terreform ONE has developed a prototype structure for a sustainable insect farm. Cricket Shelter aims to maximize access to nutrient resources and to deal with and support local communities in anticipation of post-disaster scenarios.
This also targets societal upgrading strategies in both developed and developing countries as this temporary shelter easily coverts to a permanent farming system/eatery after the crisis has dissipated. Raising cattle, pigs, and chicken for meat products all require immense amounts of fresh water. Harvesting insects for food typical takes three hundred times less water for the same amount of protein.
Structurally, the shelter can be minimized into easily manufactured and replicable elements such as a simple CNC plywood archway with linked off-the-shelf plastic containers as infill surface. The current version of the structure is more customized to account for solar orientation, airflow and varied spatial programs internally.
A computational model was used to parametrically align all of the individual containers to match the archway splines. Each pre-ordered container was modified to add ventilation screens, flexible insect sacks, locally controlled louvers, and permeable feeder ports with rotating locking mechanisms. The wind quill ventilation component magnifies the sound of cricket chirping in columns of vibrating air.
all images © Mitchell Joachim