London and Oxfordshire-based architect Mailen Design has submitted planning for a 13,000m² medicinal cannabis growing facility on the Isle of Man. The purpose-built, fully indoor cultivation and processing farm, dubbed The GrowLab, is understood to be the first on the island.
Funding for the project, close to Ronaldsway Airport, has been raised through Seedrs, which has generated more than £6 million from over 2,200 investors.
The practice is working with client GrowLab Organics (GLO) and has developed a design and building form with 'extensive use of virtual reality,' which reflects 'the flow of activity required for horticulture and cultivation.'
According to the studio, the consideration of specialist building services was 'crucial through a design where enclosed growing rooms needed to recreate daylight in a highly controlled environment.' Mailen Design director Ben Mailen said: 'The design brief was to create a facility that achieves two main objectives. Firstly, it needs to be a highly functional space that efficiently caters to the technical demands of growing natural products, particularly cannabis.'
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