Gotham Greens to build world's largest rooftop greenhouse above Chicago factory

This fall, the eco-friendly soap manufacturer will finish planting a 75,000-square-foot greenhouse on the roof of its Southside factory. The facility will take up a space larger than a full city block, making it the largest rooftop greenhouse in the world.

 

“We need to use our urban spaces more efficiently,” said Saskia Van Gendt, Method’s chief greenskeeper, in an interview with Business Insider. “Rooftop greenhouses are a representation of a model of doing that.”

 

The facility, built by a New York-based company called Gotham Greens, will use 20 times less land and 10 times less water than a standard agricultural system with the same output. Once fully operational, the greenhouse will grow over 1 million pounds of pesticide-free greens, including kale, arugula, bok choy and butterhead lettuce annually. Gotham Greens will distribute the produce to local stores, farmer’s markets and restaurants.

 

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