ARCHITECTURE
EXHIBITION
ART
ANIMATION
FLOATING FARM
FALL 2024
CORE STUDIO
INSTRUCTOR: CARLOS MEDELLIN
Floating Farm is a modular, eco-friendly system that integrates water purification, renewable energy, and urban farming. The project began with a pocket garden system that utilizes reverse osmosis to reduce seawater salinity while generating electricity through Geobacter bacteria. Initially tested at City Hall, New York City, the modular system provided micro-habitats for birds, dogs, and squirrels, demonstrating its adaptability in urban environments.
Recognizing the food insecurity faced by communities along the Hudson River, the pocket garden evolved into a temporary floating farm at Pier 45. Inspired by Lenape agricultural traditions, corn, beans, and squash—the Three Sisters—are cultivated on repurposed Lenape canoes. The canoes form islands at low tide and floating farms at high tide, creating a dynamic, resilient food production system.
Once harvested, the crops are distributed to food desert communities, addressing urban food scarcity while honoring Lenape values of sustainability and environmental stewardship. Floating Farm reimagines New York’s waterways as active ecological and agricultural spaces, merging indigenous knowledge, climate resilience, and urban innovation.
Collaborated with Pinutcha Wiriyapanlert