Adaptation of Sprung structure for use as greenhouse

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Sprung Instant Structures, a company specializing in tensioned membrane structures, has identified greenhouse**manufacturing as a potential market segment that they can capture. Sprung's innovative building solutions are**engineered for design flexibility, all-weather performance, long term quality, and cost-effectiveness. Their**tension system allows their structures to withstand extreme cold, extreme winds, extreme snowfall and extreme**heat, all while offering a very large building span. However, some challenges remain in terms of adaptation of**their highly successful structures for use as greenhouses, notably in terms of cooling and air movement. Sprung**has experimented with conventional natural ventilation and forced ventilation solutions, such as louvre and fan**systems, and roof turbine ventilators. After testing under various seasons and weather conditions, due to the**novelty of the Sprung greenhouse design, these solutions were unsuccessful. As a result, this collaborative**research between Sprung and McGill University is to design and test a greenhouse structure that combines the**structural expertize of Sprung with Dr. Lefsrud and his team's expertise in controlled environments for plants**production. Greenhouse crop production is a growing industry worldwide. The global greenhouse vegetable**cultivation area was estimated at 473 466 ha in 2016, a 14% increase from 2015. The total harvested area of**greenhouse vegetables in Canada was over 14 million m2 in 2015, which was up 3% from the previous year.**There has been a steady increase in the harvested area of greenhouse vegetables in Canada over the last five**years. The principal applicant, Dr. Lefsrud, has an established research program in the enhancement and**control of plant growth environments with 26 publications in the area. He is an expert in controlled**environments for plant production with a focus in heating and cooling of greenhouses, greenhouse CO2**enrichment, lighting systems (LED and other supplemental lighting), and nutrient delivery systems. Mr. Tim**Sprung is the Vice President of Sprung Instant Structures with a wealth of knowledge in the sector. Worldwide,**the company has completed over 12,000 projects.