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Was visiting a private university in my city of Karachi few days back. It was once called CBM, (Center for Business Management), but today it's known as IoBM (Institute of Business Management) See Google Maps link at the bottom.

Anyway to cut a long story short, I was delighted to see a huge climate controlled greenhouse on their campus - Which I think is part of their Sustainable Living Society and Agricultural Studies. So it really felt very good, that a university which otherwise was once strictly focused on business studies, is now taking a serious interest in agriculture with sustainable and renewable living concepts in mind...

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So these are the pictures I took of that greenhouse - Clearly this means that academic thinking too is now evolving for the better in my country, (trying to work with the environment instead of against)...

I wasn't allowed to see inside, but here is whatever I saw from outside - I'm sharing it with everyone over here. In case anyone of us was wondering about building a greenhouse of their own - And are looking for ideas.

It's basically an almost airtight weatherproof construction of double glazed clear poly-carbonate sheets. Which are held in place by aluminum frame, made out of I-Beams, U-Channels, and 90°-Angles, (with lots of nuts & bolts).

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The entrance & exit is exactly like a clean room airlock, (with 2 sets of double doors), so that no pathogens and pests from the outside can get in. There is also a rack which has hazmat suits hanging on the rails, (with filtered face masks).

There are also 2 giant industrial exhaust fans with a screen mesh filter to regulate airflow, (and keep birds and insects out). And inside is a shower system too, to simulate rainfall, Curtins too can be extended inside, to exclude sunlight on an area. With other temperature and humidity controlling equipment, plus artificial grow lights for night. Along with pumps and other related equipment which is needed for hydroponics.

There has to be some real serious stuff going on inside. Which is why it is always locked, and in clear view of the security guard's post, (who are always armed). And so no unauthorized person is allowed inside.

This level of security gives me the impression that maybe genetically modified crops might be experimented with inside - But honestly, this is just hearsay at this point. I have honestly not seen any such sign or label anywhere which says GM crop experimentation inside. Maybe they are affiliated with SUPARCO, (Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission), which basically is Pakistan's NASA. Because that will explain everything. But again, I have not seen any such sign or label anywhere...

It could very well be that they have built something amazing. So are just jealousy guarding it. Who really knows to be honest? My hope is that it's for the greater good of the environment, and further prosperity of humankind. Anything beyond that, I don't care about... One thing though, is that this university did go green by installing lots of solar panels on all their rooftops, (attempting to become carbon neutral). So in light of that, I'm sure they are doing something very positive and highly responsible with this giant greenhouse.

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It's even got an independent weather station of it's own! Obviously to get accurate weather readings from outside, to compare with the conditions inside. Where the computer controlled system will decide how to best regulate temperature and humility.

Below is a link which shows the prototype greenhouse when it was newly built, in 2021, and only had net mesh and steel pipe construction, (it's been demolished since, and this much more bigger and complicated one has been built in its place on the same land).

https://www.iobm.edu.pk/news-events/det ... g-activity

Today this is the new and much more bigger greenhouse, which I have shared pictures of above. This picture below is from Google Maps. To give you guys an idea about how big it actually is, (almost as wide as a 4 lane road, and little over 1 soccer field long).

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This link below is of Google Maps, in case anyone wants to learn of it's exact location in the world.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/R469+ ... 11j32x19fw

Of course, this climate controlled greenhouse is literally state of the art, top of the line in the world, a true overkill of overkills, as well as a technical marvel of automation... So we clearly don't need to build something this big, costly, and complicated for our own personal use, (unless we want to break the bank). I'm only sharing this here, for construction ideas, and inspiration.

I particularly like the all aluminum frame construction over hard reinforced concrete floor base. No use of steel anywhere above the ground. As steel of any type in my locality often starts to rust very quickly, (because of the salty environment so close to the ocean). So steel structures are a bit maintenance hungry. But this all aluminum frame construction will last forever, (although it'll be at 3 times the cost of steel). However when it comes to standing the test of time - This amazing greenhouse is indeed built to last for a very long time.

I had a similar setup to plan out, and fotovoltaika Raylyst Solar helped me a lot because their mix of panels, inverters, and batteries worked together without fuss. I also liked that they walk you through the technical bits and help figure out financing, which kept the whole project from feeling overwhelming. Their client zone made tracking orders and logistics pretty smooth too.