From the Series
New York-based non-profit design firm Terreform ONE is addressing global food shortages with hybrid architecture. Tapped into the future of urban farming, the organisation is always coming up with new ways to get us to eat insects. With Cricket Shelter, the organisation hopes to provide a viable way to farm crickets in urban and developing areas.
According to the architecture firm, a prototype of the shelter has been installed on a dock at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City, USA. It houses around 22 000 insects, allowing them to move around in a way the designers have described as “free range”. The organisation suggests that the insects can be ground into a powder and mixed with other foods.
“Raising cattle, pigs, and chicken for meat products all require immense amounts of fresh water. Harvesting insects for food typically takes three hundred times less water for the same amount of protein. Our project aims to maximize access to nutrient resources and to deal with and support local communities in anticipation of post-disaster scenarios,” writes Terreform ONE.
