The Mile-High Tower That Grows Food, Harvests Clouds, and Heals Chicago - Yanko Design

"The project tackles one of Chicago's most urgent urban challenges: food deserts. In many neighborhoods, especially low-income ones, access to fresh and nutritious food is limited. Grocery stores are scarce, healthy options are expensive, and residents often rely on convenience stores or fast food. Eden Rise flips this reality by embedding vertical farms directly into a mile-high tower, allowing fresh produce to be grown where people live. Food no longer travels miles to reach a plate. It moves floors."

"The tower's design is as poetic as its purpose. Inspired by the fluid form of a water droplet, its organic silhouette reflects Chicago's relationship with water while symbolizing life, renewal, and sustainability. This fusion of natural inspiration and urban ambition transforms the structure into a vertical extension of the city's green belt, suggesting a future where skylines are defined not just by height but by ecological intelligence."

"Inside, Eden Rise functions like a city stacked vertically. Homes sit alongside offices, hotels, schools, and recreational spaces, creating a complete lifestyle environment within a single structure. Residents can wake up, work, learn, relax, and socialize without ever needing to commute across town. Schools integrated throughout the tower ensure education is woven into everyday life, while hotels welcome visitors to experience this futuristic ecosystem from panoramic heights. It is urban life condensed, connected, and reimagined."

Eden Rise Vertical Eco Living Community envisions a mile-high mixed-use tower that embeds vertical farms to grow fresh produce within neighborhoods, addressing Chicago's food deserts. The design harvests water from clouds and uses an organic, droplet-inspired silhouette that connects with the city's relationship to water. Residential units coexist with offices, hotels, schools, and recreational spaces to create a self-contained, walkless lifestyle. Sky terraces act as elevated parks and urban green space. The tower stacks education, work, leisure, and agriculture vertically to reduce commutes, shorten food supply chains, and integrate ecological functions into urban living.

Read at Yanko Design - Modern Industrial Design News