Tokyo office grows own food in vertical farm

Summary

The Kisana Group's Tokyo headquarters showcases an innovative urban farming concept, integrating agriculture into the workspace for a symbiotic relationship with nature. The building features a rice paddy, hydroponic gardens, and a variety of vegetables, all grown under controlled lighting and humidity. This green initiative not only fosters a healthy working environment but also serves as an educational tool, promoting familiarity with agriculture. The fresh produce is utilized in the cafeteria, contributing to the employees' well-being and reducing the building's energy consumption through natural temperature regulation.

Takeaways

• 🌱 The Kisana Group's headquarters in Tokyo is designed to incorporate nature into the urban environment, promoting a symbiotic relationship between the building and its natural elements.
• 🌾 The building features an urban farm where rice, radishes, and a variety of vegetables are grown, contributing to a healthy working environment.
• 💡 The use of LED and high-pressure sodium lights simulate natural light for plant growth, and the building's air is controlled to create optimal growing conditions.
• 🌿 The HR company's CEO prioritizes the health of workers, believing that a green environment enhances well-being, which is reflected in the building's design.
• 🍅 The building includes a tomato guestroom where hydroponic systems are used for growing tomatoes, demonstrating innovative agricultural practices.
• 🌼 The garden serves as a familiar space for visitors, showcasing traditional Japanese vegetables and the use of mist to control humidity for plant growth.
• 🥬 Fresh produce from the garden is used in the cafeteria, providing employees with access to healthy, locally grown food.
• 🌿 The building's design includes green spaces that provide both mental and physical health benefits, such as reduced reliance on air conditioning and heating.
• 🌳 The building's exterior includes green cartons that save energy by providing natural insulation and reducing the need for artificial cooling or heating.
• 📚 The Kisana Group encourages education about agriculture, inviting students to learn about the growing process and the benefits of hydroponics.
• 🏙️ The concept of vertical farming is discussed as a potential next step for urban agriculture, with the Kisana Group serving as an example of how companies can integrate farming into their operations.

Q & A

What is the concept of the Kisana Group's headquarter building in Tokyo?

The concept of the building is symbiosis with nature, focusing on creating a healthy working environment.

What types of crops are grown inside the Kisana Group's building?

They grow rice, radishes, a variety of vegetables including lettuce, eggplant, corn, tomato, and okra, and also operate a hydroponic system for growing plants like tomatoes and lettuce.

How often can rice be harvested in the Kisana Group's indoor environment?

The rice can be harvested three times a year.

What types of lighting are used for growing crops inside the building?

They use LED lights and high-pressure sodium lights, with the white light being LED and the orange one being high-pressure sodium.

How does the Kisana Group control the environment for plant growth?

They control the air, mist, and humidity to create optimal conditions for the plants, and they also manage the lighting to match the office's use.

What is the purpose of having a garden inside the Kisana Group's building?

The garden serves as a familiar space for those who come to visit, connecting them with the agriculture sector.

How does the Kisana Group utilize the harvested produce?

The harvested produce is used in the cafeteria for employees to eat, promoting a healthy diet.

What is the significance of the sprouts grown in the meeting space?

The sprouts represent the seeds of growth and utilize the 'dead space' of the chairs, showcasing an innovative use of space.

How does the Kisana Group's approach to agriculture benefit its workers?

The approach provides both mental and physical health benefits by surrounding workers with greenery and offering fresh produce.

What is the role of the green cartons outside the building?

The green cartons serve as a natural air conditioner and heater, reducing the need for artificial climate control inside the building.

How does the Kisana Group encourage young people to engage in agriculture?

They demonstrate innovative farming techniques like hydroponics and vertical gardens, aiming to inspire and educate younger generations about modern agricultural practices.

Outlines

00:00

🌱 Urban Farming in Tokyo's Kisana Group Headquarters

The script describes an innovative urban farming concept implemented at the Kisana Group's Tokyo headquarters. The building is designed to foster a symbiotic relationship with nature, emphasizing a healthy working environment. Inside, the company grows rice, radishes, and a variety of vegetables using LED and high-pressure sodium lights to simulate sunlight. The building's air and humidity are controlled to accommodate the plants' needs. The CEO prioritizes worker health, believing that a green environment contributes positively. The script also mentions a garden growing traditional Japanese vegetables, controlled mist systems, and the use of hydroponics for growing plants like tomatoes and lettuce. The produce is used in the cafeteria, offering fresh, healthy food to employees. The concept extends to using office space for plant growth, with lighting adjusted according to office use, demonstrating a commitment to sustainability and health.

05:02

🌼 Embracing Vertical Farming and its Benefits

The second paragraph delves into the benefits of vertical farming, as practiced within the Kisana Group's building. It discusses the use of space for sprouting seeds without the need for artificial light, and the subsequent growth of these plants in the restaurant area. The vertical farming system is highlighted as a means to provide a healthy diet, especially for those who might not consume enough vegetables. The building's exterior greenery is also mentioned, explaining how it contributes to energy savings by providing shade in summer and reducing the need for air conditioning or heating. The script touches on the challenges faced by the aging farming population in Japan and how the Kisana Group encourages young people to engage in agriculture. Hydroponics is presented as an efficient and bug-resistant method of farming. The reception area's vertical gardens with pumpkins and cucumbers illustrate the potential for urban agriculture. The script concludes by contemplating the future of vertical farming in cities, suggesting it could be a significant step towards local food production, though acknowledging the challenges and steps required for widespread adoption.

Keywords

💡Tokyo

Tokyo is the capital city of Japan and serves as the setting for this video. It is known for its dense urban environment and limited exposure to nature, which is a central theme in the video. The script mentions Tokyo as a backdrop to highlight the innovative concept of an urban farm within a corporate building, emphasizing the contrast between the bustling city and the serene, nature-oriented workspace.

💡Kisana Group

Kisana Group is the company featured in the video, which has its headquarters in Tokyo. The video showcases the unique approach of Kisana Group to create a symbiotic relationship between nature and the workplace. The concept of the building is to provide a healthy working environment by integrating agriculture within its structure, which is a key point in the video's narrative.

💡Symbiosis

Symbiosis refers to a close and long-term interaction between two different biological species, which may be mutually beneficial. In the context of the video, it is used metaphorically to describe the relationship between the office environment and the agricultural practices taking place within the building. The integration of farming within an urban office setting exemplifies a harmonious coexistence that benefits both the workers and the plants.

💡Hydroponics

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil, using nutrient-rich water. The video explains that the Kisana Group uses hydroponics to grow various vegetables, such as lettuce and tomatoes, within the building. This method is highlighted as a sustainable and efficient way to cultivate plants, reducing the need for soil and minimizing the risk of pests.

💡Healthy Working Environment

A healthy working environment is a central theme of the video. The Kisana Group's CEO believes that surrounding workers with greenery and nature can improve their health. The script describes how the building is designed to incorporate elements of agriculture, such as rice paddies and vegetable gardens, to create a space that is both physically and mentally beneficial for the employees.

💡Lighting

Lighting is crucial for plant growth, and the video discusses the types of lights used in the indoor farming setup. It mentions 'LTE light' and 'high-pressure sodium light,' which are used to simulate natural sunlight for the plants. The lighting is controlled to match the office's operational hours, illustrating how the building's resources are efficiently shared between the workers and the plants.

💡Vertical Farming

Vertical farming is a method of growing crops in vertically stacked layers, often within urban environments. The video script suggests the potential for vertical gardens to take up entire skyscrapers in cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong, which could be a next step in urban agriculture. This concept is presented as a solution to limited space and a way to grow more locally sourced food.

💡Agricultural Familiarity

The video emphasizes the importance of making people feel familiar with the agriculture sector. The Kisana Group's urban farm serves as an educational space where visitors can experience and learn about farming practices. This is particularly relevant in the context of an aging farming population in Japan, where younger generations are encouraged to engage with agriculture.

💡Sustainability

Sustainability is a key concept in the video, as it discusses the environmental benefits of the Kisana Group's approach to farming. The building's design, which includes natural elements like plants and rice paddies, helps to reduce energy consumption by providing shade and natural cooling. The script also mentions the use of LED lights for safety and energy efficiency.

💡Humidity Control

Humidity control is essential for plant growth, and the video describes how the indoor environment is managed to maintain optimal conditions for the plants. The script mentions the use of mist to control humidity levels, which is crucial for the health and growth of the plants, especially in a dry indoor environment.

💡Local Food Production

Local food production is a significant aspect of the video's message. The Kisana Group grows vegetables not for commercial sale but for consumption within the company's cafeteria. This practice promotes the idea of consuming fresh, locally grown produce, reducing the environmental impact of transportation and supporting a sustainable food system.

Highlights

The Kisana Group's Tokyo headquarters is designed to create a symbiotic relationship with nature, providing a healthy working environment.

The building incorporates urban farming with rice paddies and vegetable gardens, contributing to a greener environment.

Use of LED and high-pressure sodium lights for growing rice indoors, three times a year.

Control of air and mist to simulate natural conditions for plant growth inside the building.

The CEO of a personal group HR company prioritizes worker health and well-being through a green environment.

The building's garden grows traditional Japanese vegetables, including lady's finger, controlled by humidity.

The indoor garden includes okra, lettuce, eggplant, corn, and tomato, all grown with hydroponics.

The garden serves as an educational space for visitors to understand agriculture.

Tomatoes are grown in a guestroom setting with hydroponics, surprising visitors with the building's capabilities.

The building's lettuce is grown in the same environment as the office, sharing lighting and space.

Freshly harvested vegetables are served in the cafeteria, promoting a healthy diet for employees.

The building's green cartons outside contribute to energy savings by providing natural insulation.

After an earthquake, the rice paddy was renovated for safety and to use less electricity.

Different colored lights affect the growth and appearance of plants, as demonstrated by the lettuce.

The Kisana Group encourages young people to engage in agriculture through innovative farming methods.

Hydroponic farming is highlighted as a water-efficient and bug-free alternative to traditional soil farming.

Vertical gardens and skyscrapers are discussed as potential future steps for urban farming in dense cities.

The Kisana Group's vertical farming is not for commercial sale but to familiarize people with agriculture.

Transcripts

if you work in Tokyo there's less chance

to we exposed in nature

so it's great to have work place like

this mirror over Tokyo

here is the headquarter of kisana group

and the hair you see the vice body okay

this is our urban fund a farm inside

yeah in the building

the concept of the building as symbiosis

with nature their first concept is

healthy working environment we grow rice

here and the raddest over there and grow

up a lot of vegetables on the in

the inside the building this is a light

body that we planted and we can harvest

the rice three times a year and as we

grow up this rice inside the building we

use that LTE light and the high high

pressure sodium light the white wine as

LTE and orange one is the high pressure

sodium ramp and we control the air to

make the wind

as the personal group is the HR company

our CEO thought the most important thing

is the health of the workers he thought

environment surrounded by green will be

good for his workers health and this is

the garden and the now we grows opera

Japanese traditional vegetable but it's

got the lady's finger and we control the

mist like this she control the humidity

yeah inside the building might be too

dry for grownup and we cannot just hate

of lights depend on the growth of the

plants

now we grow up okra but we used to have

like kind of lettuce and the ambulances

and the eggplant corn and corn again in

tomato and eggplant

this garden is for whoever comes to pass

on the curb feel familiar to the

agriculture sector this is the tomato

guestroom and we grab tomato here and we

grow tomato with hydroponics so you see

water here

it's the reaction to two guests here

how many of them is surprised to see

they can't imagine buildings like this

from that why Green located middle of

Tokyo and this is the midst of a factory

and we can grow lettuce here as it's

inside the building bigger applicable

regardless of the weather

this wine has also hydroponics so it's

water

the weaker harvest let this for like 30

days to 40 days so the first one is like

this and then become bigger and bigger

but basically our concept is the growing

plants inside the office in that in the

same same environment as office so if

office is not used for example at night

we also turn off the lights for

vegetables too so basically the use of

light is same as the normal office yeah

in the morning we turn off the light and

for night we turn off it

and the latest harvested from here can

eaten at a cafeteria on the last hour

sorry Emperor can eat the fresh

vegetables

I come forward is free meeting space for

Emperor II and the fun part of this

flower is it's the seed of sprouts

because they don't need the lights for

sprouting so we use the dead space of

the chair and after they sprouted we

move there and make them bigger and here

we grow harvest this is all used in the

restaurant I like material yeah well we

have eight we have oranges there now for

example like people who lived alone they

don't eat much vegetables we serve

vegetables harvested here for lunch they

can take as much as they want so I think

that one of the healthy point of this is

Spain

so this building is both mentally and

physically healthier for the workers

here's the green cartons that we have

outside the building

the leaves falls off in the wind

that doesn't like go into the world

on the other hand in summer the leaves

grow up and the cutters and lights go

into the building and then we save the

electricity we don't use that air

conditioner or heater

after the earthquake we have to cut the

electricity so we stopped the rice body

as we used a lot of electricity and we

renewed this rice paddy last year but

now we use LTE right for safety and

electricity energy this plant are

planted at the same time but they grow

differently bent on the color of lights

the let one girls up quickly and a blue

one the shape of leaf is the best one

and their dream

helps to make vivid color sometimes

students from elementary school or high

school welcome to study things like

growing process of the visible as the

people who who are doing the farming in

Japan getting older and the older so the

farmers are getting older yeah yeah so

for some a group encourage the young

people to start the farm in venture and

the way we help the young youngers doing

the agricultural thing we grow up these

vegetables with hydroponics it is less

water is that pretty efficient yeah

with soil there will be more bugs but if

it's water we can prevent a bug

here at the reception we have pumpkins

here and here we have cucumbers in the

silver box with put the soil this one

soil people talk about having vertical

gardens look taking entire skyscrapers

in cities like Hong Kong mm-hmm Tokyo in

order to grower for more locally do you

see that as sort of a next step that

could happen it will be great that a lot

of companies do things like this but mmm

I think it takes many more steps people

doing vertical farming like this even we

we grow up vegetables but it's not for

selling as we're we're not the grocery

store we we grow our vegetables just

full thing for make feel familiar to the

agriculture sector