Hidden away in the Green Quarter between the centre of Antwerp and the former military hospital stand the old industrial buildings that once housed a construction company. They are now an oasis of green and a breeding ground for creative entrepreneurs with a story to tell. A mix of sustainable initiatives including those of chefs, brewers, baristas and digital millipedes have found a place for themselves in the inspiring buildings of Pakt.
The owner and developer of the old buildings, along with agro-biotechnologist Bram Stessel, has developed a concept for a rooftop farm almost 2,000 square metres in size, where vegetables, fruit and tomatoes are grown and chickens grub about. The produce goes to its community of members, the rooftop farmers who, under professional guidance, learn all about growing crops, including sowing, composting and harvesting.
‘I said I'd become a mailman and give up on farming.’
Bram Stessel, agro-biotechnologistPutting a 35-centimetre layer of soil right across the roofs of the old buildings was not an option; the structure would have collapsed under the weight of the fertile earth. Bram looked for an alternative way to create a fertile substrate for his crops that the roofs would be able to bear and settled upon hay bales.
‘To me it was obvious there was another way.’
Bram approached Adje, an old schoolfriend of his and a daughter of a farming family that always had a strong focus on sustainability, to work with him on further developing the Pakt farm and exploiting it commercially. The farm must not turn into an events venue in the city, as so often happens; instead it needed to be all about the essence of farming, of urban agriculture. Rather than becoming yet another loss-making hobby, it had to be able to pay its way.
Together, Bram and Adje developed the rooftop farm into what it now is: a coveted location for numerous entrepreneurs, bringing the countryside to roofs in the heart of the city of Antwerp.
We encourage all of you, especially project developers, town councillors and building owners with flat roofs, to go and take a look.
In the film, Bram describes his meeting with the owner of the buildings and the search for a way of transforming the roofs into the luxuriant natural environment they have become.
