Terraforming Cultivation:Landformation for Agricultural Continuity

Abstract

How far can landform be pushed to generate new localized climates?

Today, a gargantuan 35 gigatons of earth are moved annually, a number that rivals that of geomorphologic processes. The sculpting of the planet’s surface has fallen to human hands. At the same time, due to projected rises in global temperature, a significant number of agricultural production zones and their crops are at risk. The above two aspects bring the idea of terraforming back into focus.Born in the realm of science fiction since the early 1900s,terraforming is the hypothetical process of re-engineering a planet’s environment to support human life. The literallymeaning of terraforming, or “earth-shaping” is applied in my project, where in the large-scale landforms are designed to create viable microclimates for agricultural continuity.Through careful manipulation of geometry, agricultural risk can be mediated by curating specific microclimates: altering temperature, solar exposure, wind velocity, and hydrologic retention. Using Peru’s Ica Valley, one of the largest global exporters of fresh green asparagus, as a terraforming ground zero, it is possible to design a new climatically centered form of agricultural settlement. What emerges is not only a temporary solution for the continuity of the asparagus, but a new process of agricultural practice for an increasingly demanding world.Terraforming is the first step to building future landformed cities.

Keywords

Terraforming / Microclimate / Agriculture / Asparagus / Landform

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2014 Higher Education Press