Sky Farms NYC
Rooftop Urban Farms in a Solar Envelope
Welcome to Sky Farms NYC, a rooftop urban farm project wrapped in a solar envelope. Inspired by models like Brooklyn Grange and Gotham Greens, our project is a city-wide prototype, with the potential to produce 137 tons of fresh produce with zero carbon footprint. Our concept tackles the urban dilemmas of NYC at its very core: food deserts, water pollution, toxic energy, and public education.
FOOD: Brooklyn’s fresh food insecurity rate is approximately 19.8%, which is nearly double the national average.
Food Deserts: The high density of ultra-processed foods over organic fresh produce in low-income areas is driving a surge in chronic, diet-related illnesses.
Food Inflation: A 25.2% increase in food prices since 2019 forces vulnerable households to make impossible trade-offs between nutrition and rent.
WATER: NYC relies on a legacy combined sewer infrastructure, where stormwater runoff from impermeable urban surfaces shares the exact same pipe network as raw domestic sewage.
Due to the city's dense concrete footprint, even moderate rainfall generates runoff that instantly exceeds the volumetric processing capacity of local wastewater treatment plants. The need for stormwater retention is paramount.
TOXIC ENERGY - The Grid's Fossil Dependency: According to the 2024 NYC GHG Inventory, 79% of the city's electricity is supplied by natural gas generators. Therefore, relying solely on standard grid electrification does not resolve the core issue; it merely transfers the carbon emission burden from local buildings to remote power plants.
Thermal Inefficiency in Housing: Data indicates that in the multifamily sector, thermal conditioning—specifically Space Heating and Domestic Hot Water (DHW)—accounts for the overwhelming majority of total site energy consumption. This exposes the structural heat loss and severe inefficiency inherent in conventional building envelopes.
PUBLIC EDUCATION - Public schools offer the greatest potential for urban farming in NYC, since the empty rooftops and the workforce are already there. Organizations such as NY Sun Works have been teaching hydroponics in classrooms at a large scale. Expanding this potential on a larger scale will not only empower the education system but also equip future adults to handle the challenges of climate change and food insecurity with better tools.
The 40,000-Acre Blank Canvas: NYC’s 1 million buildings yield roughly 40,000 acres of flat rooftop area. This massive impermeable footprint represents the city's largest unexploited spatial asset.
The 0.1% Utilization Deficit: Only 60 acres (<0.1%) of available roof space currently feature green infrastructure. The vast majority of this high-potential "fifth façade" remains completely disconnected from urban utility networks.
The Solar Canvas: Rooftops are sun-flooded, structurally firm surfaces that can accommodate lightweight structures. Why not harvest the sun for farming and clean energy? It just makes sense.
A ROBUST REMEDY:
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produces 137.7 tons of organic produce per year for low-income communities, eradicating food deserts while decreasing supply chain emissions
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retains 445.800 gallons of rainwater annually, significantly reducing municipal sewage overflow
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solar panels generate 135.7 MWh of clean energy annually while improved, near-passive building insulation applied from the exterior offset carbon emissions without any evacuation
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combined with food, water, and passive house upgrades, the project offsets a total of 286.2 tons of CO2 per year
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creates 10 full-time jobs per building with a greenhouse
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delivers ~$2.61M in total annual economic value per facility by directly subsidizing utility bills and food costs for vulnerable demographics.
SKY FARMS NYC is a model that finally puts two and two together in NYC
Principal Architect
Selim Vural
Year
2026
Phase
In-progress
Project Designer
Efecan Zeybek
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