Voedzelf/Feedself

Mediamatic at the Food & Architecture Fair

24 Haz 2012

The 2012 theme of the National Day of Architecture is food and architecture. Mediamatic's aquaponics project Voedzelf/Feedself and the Biodiesel Canteen by João Negro featured at the Food & Architecture Fair hosted by the Amsterdam Center for Architecture (ARCAM).

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Bezoekers bekijken het <strong>aquaponics</strong> <strong>project</strong> - Tijdens de Dag van de Architectuur.

Food, people and cities are inextricably connected. The exponential growth in population has placed a lot of stress on the food production and -distribution cycle. This development calls for new ideas and applications by creative designers and urban citizens. Mediamatic embraces this development.



Voedzelf/Feedself

Over the next few years Mediamatic will focus on redeveloping itself as a hyper-local open house for art, new technology and fresh stuff. We are moving away from new media and towards biotechnology: art and design with organisms. At Mediamatic we've been experimenting with aquaponics: a sustainable food production system that combines the cultivation of vegetables and fish in a closed cycle. This method utilizes natural bacterial cycles to convert fish waste to plant nutrients. The plants filtrate the water for the fish without the need to discard any water.

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High density 4-storey aquaponics edifice - Aquaponics tower, presented at the Food & Architecture Fair.





Diesel Kantine

In the Diesel Kantine (Diesel Canteen) João Negro makes soap and bio-diesel from old frying fat collected from the neighborhood around Mediamatic Fabriek. Two basic elements of everyday life: soap and fuel. The soap we produce is scented with spices from our own aquaponics cultivation. The bio-diesel heats the stove that we use to prepare snacks made from our aquaponics fish and veggies; the Kantine and the neighborhood sustain one another. The energy comes from the neighborhood, the ingredients come from the neighborhood, and João will feed, clean, educate, and entertain the neighborhood.

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Preparing the biodiesel - for the Diesel Canteen, at the Food & Architecture Fair.

With: João Negro



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Visitors look at the preparations of the Diesel Kantine - During Dag van de Architectuur (Architecture Day) at the Food & Architecture Fair : the Diesel Kantine (diesel canteen).





More information

Location: Centrale Markthallen, part of Food Centre Amsterdam, north of the Jan van Galenstraat in Amsterdam West. Time: 10.00 to 18.00. At the Food & Architecture Fair you’ll find different designers, food experts, chefs and architects who illustrate the inspiring relation between food and design. For more information about the Food & Architecture Fair visit the website of ARCAM and the website of Dag van de Architectuur (National Day of Architecture).

The French/German broadcasting station ARTE dedicated an item about urban farming and our aquaponics project at June 2, 2012. Go to this page for the broadcast.