Hotels Around The World Are Adopting Urban Farms

There are many hotels around the world that have implemented urban farms, design go from floor-to-ceiling murals, other feature sculptural reception desks, but JW Marriott is taking a different, more sustainable approach. Since 2019, the luxurious hotel has been planting gardens on its properties.

The terrarium was designed by Lily Kwong, whose eponymous landscape design studio has previously worked with H&M, St-Germain, and the French fashion designer Joseph Altuzarra (who is also her cousin). The terrarium is part of a broader initiative called the JW Garden, for which the hotel chain plants fruits, vegetables, and herbs to use in its kitchen and spas.

Over the upcoming years, the company plans to plant a garden in every single one of its 103 properties. For the initiative to make a true impact, these gardens would need to be closer to a greenhouse than a terrarium, but at scale, the concept could help provide a model for self-sustaining hotels and restaurants around the world. The Terrarium installed in New York City is an art piece even if the herbs can be harvested regularly, ranging from varieties like mint, oregano and rosemary for cocktails and spice rubs.

The Mercure Paris Boulogne Has An Urban Rooftop

The Mercure Paris Boulogne was clearly an ideal candidate with its 350 m² terraces free of any technical installations, easy to reach and without any sealing problems or safety risks.

″While reviewing the hotels, I started looking for possible partners to support us by bringing innovative solutions″, comments Caroline Ebran. ″During a visit to the pilot project managed by the young start-up Agripolis I discovered aeroponics″.

In this soilless growing method, plants obtain their water and nutrients by means of a closed circuit, meaning that ten times less water is used than in conventional agriculture! In accordance with the deal made between the two companies, AccorInvest financed the construction of an aeroponic vegetable garden on the roof of the Mercure Paris Boulogne while Agripolis ensures the maintenance of equipment and harvests the fruit and vegetables.

The vegetable garden consists of 216 PVC columns suspended from a bamboo structure. Each column is two metres high and can be used to support plants along with its entire height, meaning that the production area is much larger than in a standard garden.

Projects are underway throughout the world as hotels or resorts seek new ways to add value to their services by offering local food.