Vertical vision

By Editorial Staff - 20 April 2026

Located in northern Italy’s Po Valley, agrotechnology firm Planet Farms’ new cultivation facility brings together industrial architecture, landscape, and corporate identity. Designed by Floriani e Strozzi Architetti, the complex reimagines industrial sites as integrated systems that are legible and open to context.

A rhythmic sequence of wood slats defines the façade, creating a distinctive presence within the agricultural landscape. Its undulating profile evokes the rise and fall of the surrounding farmland, translating its relationship with the land into an architectural language. Beyond softening the volume’s visual impact, the wood cladding provides shading and regulates interior temperatures, reducing overall energy consumption. The cladding sums up the studio’s vision of sustainability as an “integration of culture, technology, and context” – an approach that encompasses environmental, social, and economic dimensions, positioning the building as part of a broader ecosystem.

Stabilimento Planet Farms La facciata esterna agisce come dispositivo di schermatura solare e si compone di una serie di elementi lignei prefabbricati, che ricalcano la linearità degli alberi. Il profilo ondulato si ispira invece alle geometrie delle coltivazioni di pianura. © Alessandro Saletta - DSL Studio, courtesy Planet Farms

The interiors continue this approach. A curated selection of materials and colors, combined with an emphasis on open, flexible planning, reinforces the connection to the exterior. The wood slats reappear as a recurring motif, while a neutral, natural color palette creates a sense of balance in the interior spaces. Open and modular, the workspaces accommodate diverse functions and can adapt to changing needs. Floriani e Strozzi Architetti prioritized occupant wellness throughout the facility, utilizing acoustic control, high-quality lighting, and intuitive circulation to create a healthy, functional workplace.

One of the world’s largest vertical farming operations, the cultivation facility forms the building’s core. This system grows crops in vertically stacked layers, typically within a controlled indoor environment, rather than horizontally on land. Its advantages include a drastic reduction in water consumption, the elimination of pesticides, and, in particular, minimal land impact. Within a building footprint of 11,500 sq. m, the facility accommodates approximately 20,000 sq. m of vertical cultivation area.

The architecture and interiors reflect the company’s vision of a high-tech production model that uses the natural and cultural landscape as its conceptual foundation. The design brings together every aspect of the company’s operations under one roof, with cultivation areas alongside workspaces, showrooms, and meeting points to form a complex, unified organism. Ultimately, the facility is a testament to an enterprise where space, production, and corporate culture are intrinsically linked.

Planet Farms Cultivation Facility | Comprising a series of prefabricated wood elements that echo the vertical rhythm of trees, the façade acts as a solar shading system. The undulating façade draws from the rise and fall of the surrounding farmland. © Alessandro Saletta - DSL Studio, courtesy of Planet Farms

Planet Farms Cultivation Facility | © Alessandro Saletta - DSL Studio, courtesy of Planet Farms

Planet Farms Cultivation Facility | A green-toned color palette, wall art, the repeating motif of the wood slats, and expansive glazing that maximizes the connection to the outdoors create interiors focused on nature and wellness. © Alessandro Saletta - DSL Studio, courtesy of Planet Farms

Planet Farms Cultivation Facility | The vertical farming stacks form an innovative, fully automated artificial ecosystem that eliminates pesticides while minimizing the use of water, land, and fertilizers. © Alessandro Saletta - DSL Studio, courtesy of Planet Farms

Location: Cirimido, Como, Italy
Client: Planet Farms
Completion: 2024
Gross Floor Area: 11,500 m²Architect and Landscape Design: Floriani e Strozzi Architetti
Main Contractor: Suardi
Structural and Landscape Consultant: Studio ArTec

Photography: Alessandro Saletta - DSL Studio, courtesy of Planet Farms

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