As part of a field visit to Sweden, a group of 18 students from the National School of Architecture in Versailles, led by Harvard Wheelwright Prize winner Marina Otero Verzier, got an inside look at the Greenhouse Project—an innovative initiative by Genesis Digital Assets Limited (GDA) in partnership with Boden Municipality. This visit, which took place on October 17, 2024, spotlighted how excess heat from GDA’s data centers is being used to revolutionize sustainable agriculture and foster community growth.
Operating in the cold climate of Boden, Sweden—where temperatures get as low as -34°C—the Greenhouse Project uses heat by-products from GDA’s operations to cultivate an array of produce, including strawberries, zucchinis, kale, herbs such as basil and cilantro, and micro-greens. The project represents a pioneering effort by the mining industry and integrates cutting-edge agricultural techniques such as hydroponics, aeroponics, and deep water culture systems, ensuring maximum yield with minimal environmental impact.
Approximately 100 salads are delivered every week to local schools and municipal offices. These fresh, sustainably grown vegetables now enhance the diets of hundreds of schoolchildren and public employees.
Following the visit, one of the students said that “the greenhouse project provided an excellent case study and inspired new student designs that integrate digital infrastructure with agricultural practices, particularly in regions reliant on food imports,” highlighting the potential for academic interest towards this booming industry. “We were especially interested in the challenges encountered during the design development process and how the project adapted over time to ensure optimal conditions—such as balancing humidity and heat—for fostering vegetal life.”
The project offered visiting students an invaluable lesson on designing resilient, hybrid infrastructures. The combination of digital infrastructure and agriculture in the Greenhouse Project exemplifies how industries can engage in unconventional collaborations to address modern challenges such as efficient energy usage and sustainable food production.
“We believe it is essential to rethink digital infrastructure, particularly data center design, to create synergies with existing urban programs, such as housing, public infrastructure, and production centers,” said one of the professors visiting the data center in Boden. “This integration should actively contribute to decarbonization processes and eco-social practices.”
The visit represents an effort to help the general public better understand the real implications of Bitcoin mining’s energy consumption, with the Greenhouse Project proving to be a highly sustainable solution that benefits the local community. GDA is also exploring additional innovations to enhance efficiency further and utilize the excess heat for Sweden’s cold weather.
“There’s something uniquely inspiring about witnessing that ‘aha’ moment with students. They come in with digital fluency and fresh perspectives, and when they see how Bitcoin mining can integrate with sustainable practices, it reshapes their understanding,” said Matej Pilas, Regional Manager at GDA. “These students will be the ones shaping tomorrow’s infrastructure, and seeing them realize the potential of these innovations is a powerful reminder of why we do what we do at GDA.”
After touring the greenhouse, the group engaged in discussions to answer questions such as whether similar initiatives could redefine urban agriculture or how architects and technologists could collaborate to scale these ideas globally—including in warmer regions.
