Van Bergen Kolpa Architects

04/09/2025

Vertical farm Hengshui is a proud sculpture of steel and glass that underscores its agricultural and educational function. The building consists of an industrial steel structure that stands out against the Hengshui sky with a series of transparent bay windows. The entrance side has a special appearance due to the expressive, faceted facade in glass.

Client: AgriGarden
Location: Hengshui International Horticultural park, China
Surface: 12,800 m²
Architecture: van Bergen Kolpa Architecten
Interior design: AgriGarden
Cultivation techniques: AgriGarden, Logiqs, Viscon
Planning: design 2019-20, ex*****on 2021-2024
Photography: Weiqi Jin, Beijing

03/09/2025

Vertical Farm Hengshui is a 12,800m2 building that spread over four floors, an array of innovative, vertical cultivation types are stacked on top of a transparent entrance hall. An educational routing through the building leads visitors past automated vertical leafy vegetable and fruit cultivation under LED light and a rooftop greenhouse growing fruity vegetables and fruit trees under daylight.

Client: AgriGarden
Location: Hengshui International Horticultural park, China
Surface: 12,800 m²
Architecture: van Bergen Kolpa Architecten
Interior design: AgriGarden
Cultivation techniques: AgriGarden, Logiqs, Viscon
Planning: design 2019-20, ex*****on 2021-2024
Photography: Weiqi Jin, Beijing

02/09/2025

With Vertical Farm Hengshui, van Bergen Kolpa Architects delivers the innovation center for metropolitan food production for the city of Hengshui, China.

With its faceted glass facade, monumental entrance hall and stacking of functions, Vertical Farm Hengshui gives a striking, architectural face to horticulture in the metropolis. With its reuse of water, passive heat extraction and natural cooling, the building shows how, sustainably, food can be produced in the metropolis.

Client: AgriGarden
Location: Hengshui International Horticultural park, China
Surface: 12,800 m²
Architecture: van Bergen Kolpa Architecten
Interior design: AgriGarden
Cultivation techniques: AgriGarden, Logiqs, Viscon
Planning: design 2019-20, ex*****on 2021-2024
Photography: Weiqi Jin, Beijing

07/02/2023

Agrotopia is nominated for building of the year 2023 by Archdaily.
Please cast your vote to Europe’s largest research center for urban food production!
https://www.archdaily.com/976252/agrotopia-research-center-for-urban-food-production-van-bergen-kolpa-architects

Project in collaboration with META architectuurbureau for Inagro vzw and REO Veiling. Photo's by Filip Dujardin

13/12/2022

Agrotopia wins Belgian Construction Award 2022!

During the 3rd edition of the Belgian Construction Awards 2022, Rooftop Greenhouse Agrotopia has been declared the winner of the Smart Innovation Award!

The jury praises the innovative, sustainable and inspiring character of the building for the construction sector: “The Agrotopia project distinguishes itself as an extremely versatile project that is innovative and progressive in various fields. The project bears witness to intensive collaboration between various disciplines and partners. It not only broadens the future possibilities for greenhouse horticulture as a food producer, but is also an example for other industries in terms of use of space, circularity, innovative architecture and sustainable technology. The high ambitions in terms of content and technology take shape in an inviting building that can be a source of inspiration for organizations within and outside the sector.”

Agrotopia was created in collaboration with META architectuurbureau and commissioned by Inagro vzw and REO Veiling. The design team also consisted of the Greenhouse Horticulture business unit of Wageningen University & Research, Tractebel Engineering and Smiemans Projecten Greenhouse Horticulture Projects.

https://belgianconstructionawards.be/winnaars-2022/

07/12/2022

Rooftop Greenhouse Agrotopia wins WAF Award 2022 Completed Buildings, Production energy & recycling category.

7 december 2022

During the 15th edition of World Architecture Festival (WAF) in Lisbon Rooftop Greenhouse Agrotopia won the WAF Award in the category Completed Buildings for Production energy & recycling after competing against 8 other impressive finalists from a total of 252 entries from all over the globe.

Agrotopia was also highly commended for Best use of Natural light Prize, shortlisted for the for the Futureglass prize and ended runner up for World Building of the Year 2022.

“We are absolutely honoured to receive this award. It is a recognition of our design for Europe’s largest Rooftop greenhouse. The innovative building is an example for future food production in the city, intensive use of space and circular energy and water use with sustainable greenhouse horticulture.” Jago van Bergen | director at van Bergen Kolpa Architects

Since its opening in 2021 Agrotopia was also shortlisted for the Dezeen Awards 2022, the ARC22 awards, published worldwide in numerous leading architecture magazines, online architecture platforms and the Flemish Architecture yearbook 2022.

Agrotopia was made in collaboration with META architectuurbureau and commissioned by Inagro vzw and REO Veiling. The design team consisted of Wageningen University & Research business unit Greenhouse Horticulture, Tractebel Engineering and Smiemans Projecten Greenhouse projects.

25/10/2022

How do we live, grow and produce in the biobased city of the 21st century? Curious about our Plant City proposal? Then go to the International Architecture Bienale Rotterdam 2022 and the exhibition of the Ministry of Make in the Ferrodome. Or look at the website for an online impression https://www.ministerievanmaak.nl/geselecteerde-teams/van-bergen-kolpa-architecten-

13/07/2022

Boas notícias! Rooftop Greenhouse Agrotopia shortlisted the World Architecture Festival awards 2022. Finalists Van Bergen Kolpa Architects + Meta Architectuurbureau will present Agrotopia live in Lisbon during the World Architecture festival from 30 November - 2 December 2022.

Read more about Rooftop Greenhouse Agrotopia, Europe’s largest research center for urban food production here https://www.vanbergenkolpa.nl/en-gb/ -agrotopia2

With its faceted glass frontages, monumental entrance staircase and stacked functions, Agrotopia gives a striking, architectural face to horticulture on the city’s rooftops. Through innovative water recuperation and by reusing urban waste heat, Agrotopia enters a circular symbiosis with the city.

01/02/2022

Check out this great interview on Architectenweb about rooftop greenhouse Agrotopia, with new photo's from Filip Dujardin and Filippo Rossi.

A project in collaboration with META architectuurbureau.

Van Bergen Kolpa Architecten en META architectuurbureau hebben bovenop de groente- en fruitveiling REO in Roeselare (België) een grote, publiek toegankelijke, kas ontworpen waar onderzoek wordt gedaan naar (stedelijke) voedselproductie.

07/10/2021

On the occasion of the Agrotopia completion we went for a (bike) ride through Belgium visiting Brussel, Roeselare, and Gent with nice work of our colleagues Neutelings Riedijk, XDGA, OMA, Wim Depuydt, Office KGDVS, and Robbrecht en Daem architecten.