Cultured Meat Factory is a project that dwells in the intersection between technology, nature and culture. With the overall goal to understand how technology can change society, I chose to speculate on the future of food production. Bioengineering has offered us tools to produce meat without the slaughtering of animals. It means not only potential animal liberation but also, various impacts on the landscape, on economics and social relations with food.
The meat factory works as a cooperative model. It aims not only to supply the yearly demand of meat but also to democratize access to technology. The cultural aspect of the program enhances community participation on the decisions regarding the production of the food itself but also, through the “bio-hacking labs” allow the common folk to understand and replicate those techniques, further developing the technology itself. It takes food production away from big corporations, giving it back to the community, creating resilience, diminishing inequalities. Although the program is not site specific, it does fit within the context of Parkstad. A post-mining community struggling with unemployment and lack of identity, the idea of a new production facility that doubles as public square not only creates new opportunities for economic growth but also potential community engagement and, by making livestock production obsolete, new greener and ecologically oriented opportunities arise to re-create Parkstad as a future garden city.