The future of food? Manchester Museum teams up with the Biospheric Studio to change the way we produce and consume food.
Manchester Museum, part of The University of Manchester and the largest university museum in the UK, opens The Study in September 2015. A reworking of the entire top floor of its historic Grade II*-listed building, it has been reimagined as a space designed to spark wonder, curiosity and a passion for research in all of its visitors – and it launches with an aquaponics installation created by Manchester technology start-up company, the Biospheric Studio.
The installation sits inside a restored “greenhouse” within The Study. Here, a fish tank filled with carp generates the nutrients needed to grow mint plants - a live research project that provides data, demonstrates alternative food production methods, and is supported by courses and information for those who want to find out more or perhaps develop their own projects.
Throughout the autumn, for example, the Biospheric Studio runs a series of events at The Study, from a “bio-historic” banquet with Manchester Food & Drink Festival and celebrated local chef, Robert Owen Brown, to hands-on workshops that look at forest farming, fungi and how the use of new technology can provide new ways of sustainable food production.
The Biospheric Studio, run by ecologist-entrepreneur Vincent Walsh, develops high-tech systems for food production and distribution – essential for cities, where ever-growing populations put pressure on traditional methods of growing and distributing food. Some of the Biospheric Studio’s recent work includes developing vermiculture pods (where worms are used to break down food waste and create nutrient-rich compost), creating an inner-city “forest garden” in Salford (complete with over 50 species of tree), the creation of a new system for growing organic mushrooms and even a pop-up wholefoods store. Over the next five years, the studio will develop 50 technologically advanced, ecological urban systems throughout Greater Manchester.
Dr Nick Merriman, Director of Manchester Museum said, “The Study is an extremely important project for Manchester Museum. It will be a wonderful and inspiring new space, which combines cutting edge research into contemporary science and human and natural history, with the widest possible access and opportunities for new thinking. We are delighted to be working with the Biospheric Studio on the opening, and are very grateful to all the funders of this exciting new project”
