So how do they think this will be operated? I mean you obviously cant drive trucks or tractors on this. So do they imagine a lot of manual labor? Does not sound very effective.

Skipjack, most crops are able to be picked by machinery. The ones that can't could have some laborers. It wouldn't be any less efficient than manual labor on a standard farm.

@Skipjack I imagine people would adopt a space and own it. It's interesting how things have changed. I went to school with a girl (pretty, A student, AP classes etc.) who finished her masters degree, worked for an organic food company for a while, and now works as a farm hand on an organic farm. I would have never pegged her for farmer.
Farms are "in" now.

Just what I want vegetables grown in urban pollution.

@slowburn Probably healthier than what you eat unless you buy organic.

This is so absurdly inefficient and expensive that there is no way it would ever be a commercial success. The whole point of Vertical Farming is to farm more efficiently - that means you build a giant box (skyscraper) with thousands of racks of hydroponic produce on each floor, with controlled LED lighting and optimized CO2 levels. Use automated trolleys for wheeling around produce to the appropriate areas to keep the majority of human workers busy with harvesting and resetting produce racks.
Include a small bee colony on each floor for pollination purposes, and dedicate one corner to a diverse range of small flowering plants which assist in the bees' nutrition. Convert leftover biomass in a gasification plant at the base of the building to create biofuels which power generators to assist with the building's electricity requirements, in addition to at least one small or medium-sized wind turbine on the roof.
THAT is how you build a sustainable modern vertical farm. This so-called "Urban Skyfarm" concept is absolute rubbish.

Just think of the weight!
Can we really build a construction like this supporting all the soil/planting materials, water, the plants themselves and the machinery to manage/harvest?
I don't think those solar panels can deliver enough power to grow all those vegetables on all flours

@Jared: Yes it would be since there is not trucks to carry around hundreds of pounds of harvest. Manual laborers would have to carry them around. It seems incredibly inefficient that way. I also agree with what Onihikage says.

Onihikage has some very valid points.
The fact that it's shaped like a tree is esthetically pleasing but quite impractical and costly. Designing buildings that have south-facing growing sections incorporated within their structure, while providing living, work and leisure spaces would be far more practical and efficient. The concept of making micro communities within the city fabric is nothing new, but this would take it a step further by including food-growing capabilities.
A dome or glass structure on the roof for a multi purpose people area for year-round activities and a commercial section at the base would help to make this concept a success.

Practical? Someone got a nice portfolio piece out of this.