“
Buildings are not just shelters but living systems that feed, sustain, and regenerate.
This pod is a working prototype of Building-Integrated Agriculture (BIA), food production designed directly into the building itself, developed by Perkins&Will as part of ongoing research into circular, regenerative urban food systems, and operated by QuantoTech, who also supply its growing technology, with industrial design by FORM3.
80+
Contributors
17
Organizations
3
Phases
Funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Agricultural Clean Technology (ACT) Program, with matching funding from Perkins&Will and the BC Centre for Agritech Innovation.
Perkins&Will
QuantoTech
FORM3
BC Centre for Agritech Innovation
University of British Columbia
Simon Fraser University
Scan to learn more
resourcecircularity.com
Grow Environment
Live climate & air quality
Readings from the pod's in-bank sensor array, logged continuously across every crop cycle.
Harvest & Crop
What's growing right now
Each tray is tracked from propagation through harvest across a six-week cycle.
Nutrient density — pod romaine vs. open-field California romaine
Since installation
2%
Crop loss rate this cycle
Nutrient figures per 100 g edible portion, % of Health Canada adult daily value. Source: third-party lab analysis, LCA of Indoor Grown Lettuce Product v1.0.
Journey & Impact
From harvest to impact
Where this pod's food goes, and what it takes to grow it.
Distance to plate
0km
Grown and served in this building — compared to 950 km for greenhouse-grown (AB) and 1,200 km for field-grown (CA) romaine typically shipped to this market.
Shelf life
14days
Sold living, with the rootball attached — growth continues until the point of use.
Operational
Energy use
8.7kWh / kg
98% clean grid — BC Hydro
Direct electricity draw for lighting, climate control & dosing (±10% tolerance).
Operational
Water use
5.2L / kg
Direct irrigation water drawn by the system.
Closed-loop practices
100% compostable retail packaging
Substrate & trim diverted to compost
Irrigation water recirculated on-site
Water use vs. published research
Sources: grow-system manufacturer equipment specifications; Imam, Glaros, Chen, Dsouza, Brander & Ferguson (2025), Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 9:1533433, doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1533433.
Behind the Scenes
Built by many hands