Plenty – “Food with a Purpose”

Chicago, 2018

“Plenty changes the experience of eating your fruits and vegetables.  Current industrialized farming solves for only one thing: supply. With little interest in what people might prefer, the industry optimizes cost by breeding seeds for resiliency to withstand harsh outdoor elements and long-distance travel. Strawberries look good on the outside yet are white and bland on the inside. Greens are so doused in pesticides (even organic), that other chemicals like detergents and bleach have to be used to wash it all off — euphemistically called “Triple Washed.  Plenty changes all that by locating indoor farms near major cities. .” – Quote from Plenty/Addis.

Trachtenberg Architects was hired to do two quick design prototypes for sites in Chicago. The first prototype (rendered in corten steel) is for an industrial site in the South Side of Chicago but could be deployed anywhere in the world where Plenty is developing its production facilities.  The second design is in response Michele Obama’s request to consider adding a Plenty demonstration pavilion to the grounds of the new Obama Library, also in Chicago. These pre-fabricated structures will allow citizens, politicians and schoolchildren to experience Plenty’s new technology and to sample the fresh organic produce grown inside.

In late 2017, Plenty raised $200 million in the largest-ever ag-tech deal. The funding round was led by Japan’s Softbank Ventures and included funds that invest on behalf of Alphabet’s Eric Schmidt and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.

Please see Plenty website for more information.

Recent article: Business Insider, “A Jeff Bezos-backed warehouse farm startup is building 300 indoor farms

Owner: Plenty

Design Team:  Isaiah Stackhouse, David Trachtenberg,  Steven Addis