Not every modern design that pushes the limits has to be viable in order to have value.

Take for example this futuristic vertical farm dreamed up by Romses Architects for the Form Shift competition in Vancouver, BC, the first city to adopt the the 2030 Challenge for green house gas reduction.

As strictly a design concept, we (and the Form Shift judges) found the vertical farm entry intriguing, even if it does introduce all kinds of political, city planning, zoning, logistical, not to mention legal and ethical questions in the process.

Still, much of the purpose of competitions like the Form Shift are to introduce new ideas and get people thinking in a new direction. We don’t expect to see anything like the Vertical Farm in the near future, but we can certainly applaud the thought and inspiration that went into the award winning designs.

Visit the competition website to see some other great futuristic concepts that impressed the judges. Read post at DVICE.com.