THE CONNECTED FARM

GAGE BETHEA | JESSE BLEVINS

The Connected Farm is an intergenerational communal housing project which impacts its residents by implementing self-sustainability through agriculture and the efficient utilization of resources. The Connected Farm is situated 15 miles off the coast of Maine on the island of Vinalhaven which is largely undeveloped and has a vast range of ecological diversity. The project site sits on 5-acres which acts as a connection point between this undeveloped land and the dense downtown district. This area is categorized by a humid climate with cold winters and heavy snowfall. It has temperatures ranging from 19 to 71 degrees. Some of the largest economies on the island are farming and fishing which brings the community together during their productive seasons. The Connected Farm aims to address the opportunities present on the island such as shortage of sustainable housing, seasonal job instability, and insufficient resources such as internet access which leads to island flight for young individuals and generational disconnect for those aging in place. The solution is to create a community that is 100% self-sufficient to reduce housing costs, supply year-round income opportunities through agriculture and technology-based jobs, and provide a one stop-shop that promotes connection among all generations. The farm connects to the existing grid which creates blocks on the site that are allocated based on the connection to the surrounding area and how production or people would circulate around the site. The buildings are placed on a grid designed for integration to facilitate socialization and agricultural production. 75% of the site is dedicated to agriculture which allows for 41,000 pounds

of total food production and generates a 300% annual surplus. Each component within the agricultural system has a purpose and is designed to create a holistic cycle. The farm creates a thriving community that promotes human connection among all generations by providing access to social spaces, technology, and a live-work environment. Throughout the site, there are multiple means of income opportunities through technology and agriculture which provides year-round food production and incentives to stay on the island. The inspiration for this project came from the regional New England Connected Farmhouse. It was originally designed for agrarian reform and allowed New Englanders to have home-based industries while continuing to work on a centralized farm. With this concept, we designed a site which encourages a work, home, and play environment. The buildings are designed to be all-encompassing and are capable of producing income along with providing the comfort of home. The site accommodates housing for 96 residents with 24 ADA accessible rooms. Each building utilizes sustainable strategies to reduce energy consumption and water demand. Local materials are also used for affordability and reduction of the overall carbon footprint. This site integrates agriculture and technology to foster a sustainable future for the residents of Vinalhaven. The Connected Farm plays a vital role in providing an end to social isolation and building a sense of community by bringing generations together and providing social and economic opportunities through the power of food.

PERENNIAL

NATHAN CARLTON | ERIC DOWNING

PERENNIAL

2021 | EXPERIMENTS IN COMMUNAL LIVING | Resourcefulness, self-sufficiency and cooperation in the fallout of COVID

David Franco | Ulrike Heine | Andreea Mihalache | George Schafer

Perennial is set in rural Fairfield, Montana at the base of the Rocky Mountains. The area is subject to daily winds that average 15-20 mph from the western downslope winds, harsh arid climate, freezing temperatures, and snow for eight months out of the year. This allows the existing town to produce large amounts of grain crops such as barley in the short growing season each year dubbing the town, “The Malted Barley Capital of the World. ”In order to address these harsh conditions, we began by implementing a four story west facing facade that could block a majority of the wind affecting the site. This area houses office space, event space, library, rock climbing/leisure space, and residential housing with growing spaces on both the ground floor and elevated gardening spaces. Next, we developed a series of greenhouses that would act as a source of food for the community year round. The greenhouses will be able to maintain a calm, humid, and warm climate year round for both plants and residents to take advantage of. Additionally, the greenhouses are equipped with a water and snow collection system on the roofs, becoming completely self-sustaining. These spaces become a social space and a melting pot for the various programs that surround them. Programs such as the education center, consisting of a preschool and trade school, are placed adjacent to these greenhouses and used as an outdoor space for both education and leisure. The housing would also be directly connected

to each greenhouse, providing personal garden spaces for each resident to grow and cultivate their own food. The on-site brewery also takes advantage of these greenhouse in many ways. The site is able to produce the barley and wheat needed for basic brewery operations while excess fruits and vegetables from the residentials greenhouses are collected and fermented to develop seasonal brews on-site, attracting some tourism that can enter the site through the attached train station. Moving forward, the program began to be divided by the axis. This geometry is derived by the surrounding town as an acknowledgement to Fairfield and its existing environment. It creates the entrances to the site and access points between buildings, wide enough for industrial combines to enter the garden spaces for cultivation as needed. Fairfield currently does not have any sidewalk or bike paths available. The main structure of the complex supports a green roof, ¼ mile distance, for the locals and residents to take advantage of. The green roof will provide walking and bike paths during the summer with ski slopes during the winter. These roofs are angled to admire the distant Rockies to the west while providing some elevation change in the flat town of Fairfield. The project is designed to create a self-sustaining and habitable environment for residents in a harsh, arid climate year round.

ECOCYCLE

ALLIE GLAVEY | RACHEL JACKSON

ECOCYCLE

2021 | EXPERIMENTS IN COMMUNAL LIVING | Resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and cooperation in the fallout of COVID

David Franco | Ulrike Heine | Andreea Mihalache | George Schafer

In order to bring life and the community back to the polluted, saline Lake Union, our design creates a sustainable seaweed and bamboo ecosystem to filter the pollution from the air and water of Seattle. Through the creation of this habitat and reintroducing oysters to the lake, the pollution will be filtered from the water allowing other wildlife such as salmon to return and thrive as it did once before. This ecosystem is designed to absorb 12.8 tons of CO2 a year and help provide a cleaner environment for the marine life of the lake and increase the wellbeing of the community of Seattle. The climate of Seattle is in zone 8b and is relatively mild, with temperatures ranging from ranging 20°F to 90°F and receiving approximately 39 inches of rain each year. Due to 90% of the 187,150 SF being water, the project uses a system of EPS Foam, steel piles, and cables to float the buildings and green spaces in the lake while providing a habitat for oysters below to inhabit. In response to the history of the unaffordability of living on the water in Seattle, our design aims to house the young professionals & new families in the local

community and create on-site jobs for craftsmen to harvest, process, and sell the goods produced on-site. By creating more green space and introducing affordable housing on the water, our site is able to give the lake back to the community rather than the select few who can afford it. Building types on our site include: residential buildings to house up to 69 residents, a hostel to accommodate up to 42 guests, a community center for childcare in the community, a processing center/greenhouse to grow food and process raw materials into goods, a marina to transport goods to and from the site, and a farmers market to sell goods back to the public. On-site, there will be constant production of bamboo and seaweed throughout the year. This will help create revenue for the community in which to buy other needed materials not produced on-site. Excess material produced on-site will be given to the city of Seattle to help construct shelters for the large homeless population or sold to provide sustainable building materials to other projects across the pacific northwest.

GROWING HOPE

LYDIA LEHMAN | HAILEY KRABBE

RE PRODUCE

2020 | VULNERABLE CITIES, VULNERABLE POPULATIONS | Sustainable transitional housing solutions for chronically unsheltered populations in the U.S.

David Franco | Ulrike Heine | George Schafer

Growing Hope blends the typologies of “transitional housing” and “greenhouse” to create a safe place for homeless female domestic violence victims vulnerable to the harsh environmental conditions in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Growing Hope “Green House” facilitates growth and regeneration for women as they rebuild their lives and produces 22,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables every year to sustain both the residents and the community. The site’s location near a grocery store, bus stop, pharmacy, and fire station provides additional support, resources, and safety. It is nestled within Fairbanks’s urban fabric, adjacent to residential neighborhoods, work opportunities, and recreational amenities critical to the residents’ successful reintegration into the city. This project encourages connections among the residents and creates opportunities for women to work, live, and grow within the community while benefiting from living alongside nature. Women are integrated with the public through the cafe and market while working safely inside, with their children within sight across the garden in the on-site daycare facility. Units are designed

to ad-dress residents’ unique circumstances and comfort-levels, with apartments for individual living, cohabitation, and women with children distributed vertically throughout the greenhouse. Growing Hope’s “Green House” provides an intermediate climate zone between the frigid outdoor environment and the conventional indoor spaces, resulting in low annual heating costs. Large spans of recyclable polycarbonate panels on the roof and south facades allow sunlight to warm the greenhouse. At the same time, the solid buildings defining the perimeter are designed to retain heat that is released during evenings and cold, dark winter days. The sawtooth roof design collects 400,000 gallons of rainwater and melted snow per year, which is used along with greywater to irrigate crops. Growing Hope creates a regenerative ecosystem for a vulnerable population within a harsh climate, one where residents grow alongside nature while they work to overcome the obstacles of domestic violence.

RE | PRODUCE

JENN DUTT | KIMANI GRAYSON

RE PRODUCE

2020 | VULNERABLE CITIES, VULNERABLE POPULATIONS | Sustainable transitional housing solutions for chronically unsheltered populations in the U.S.

David Franco | Ulrike Heine | George Schafer

Oklahoma has the highest female incarceration rate in the United States with more than double the national average behind bars. This is due largely to nonviolent crimes such as drug possession and the state’s approach to drug related crimes. Architecture and urban planning are well documented in their influence on the individual and a collective body of people from how people interact with a space to the psychological pleasure gained from experiencing certain architecture. The goal of design for victims of cyclical patterns of abuse and trauma is comfort, community, and resources. Women coming out of the prison system will feel disconnected and often have nowhere to go, except to those people known prior to incarceration. Most of-ten, this social network may not be a positive influence and leads to the cyclical pattern of substance abuse, imprisonment, release, and repeat. Expanding their network of positive role models, providing a safe space for therapy and recovery, and supplying job and life training allow for a gradual transition to a more sustainable, beneficial life. Community Regeneration located in Tulsa, Oklahoma is a recovery facility designed to directly respond to Tulsa’s urban environment and culture of ex-convict abandonment. The integration of these women who have been incriminated into the surrounding urban fabric of Tulsa, Oklahoma is designed specifically to promote self-sufficiency and foster a network of community. This offers a solution to the often cyclical pattern of arrests and encourages a more stable and self-sustaining lifestyle. This urban approach is designed to mix with the surrounding community and enhance the lives of both the current residents and new ex-convict residents and allow for further spread into infill sites in the future. The goal is to reintegrate ex-convicted women recently released from prison back into the world and break up the cyclical pattern of incarceration as well as design sustainably for a positive impact on the surrounding environment. Those released from prison are used to a standard of

living under the system. The goal of this plan is to reintroduce the women to living out of the system in a series of steps that is on their own pace. This process begins through the design of the community building, which is the center of the urban planning design. This building serves as a central hub for the community hosting classes, a community kitchen, daycare services, therapy services, a farmers market, and a public pharmacy. The community building is designed with private quarters attached on a central community space. An open kitchen with a chef provides the women with food and teaches them how to cook nutritionally as they transition to making more meals on their own. They also have immediate access to therapy, childcare, and class space to learn job training. These women are able to gain job experience and tend gardens for their eventual transition to neighborhood com-munities where they increase individuality and branch out into the surrounding Tulsa community. The next step in design and progress with women in recovery is independent living. Women transition into sustainable housing that can have one to two bedrooms where they can choose to live alone, with a woman also in the program, or with their child. The building typology of the immediate vicinity is low-middle income housing. Passive design strategies were coupled with the surrounding vernacular architecture to create structures that are unique yet particular to the area. By creating a vertical/horizontal grid over the existing vernacular, the individual housing was stemmed to create a new modern twist to the surrounding residential architecture. Perforated wooden panels allow airflow and light but also act as modern day shutters that protect the individual housing from the extreme elements Tulsa sometimes receives. Long overhangs were designed to keep direct sunlight from entering the interior during the summer months while high insulation protects the occupants from drastic changes in interior temperature.

AGRICULTURAL INFUSION

JESS DANCER | LAUREN GZRIBOWSKI

AGRICULTURAL INFUSION

2016 | TECHNIFIED ECOSYSTEMS | The city as an artificial landscape

Ufuk Ersoy | David Franco | Ulrike Heine | Henrique Houayek

Injecting a working culinary and brewing school into downtown Greenville will diversify the age, race, and economic status of the region. This project takes on these problems by fostering encounters between the public and students as a way of bringing people of different backgrounds together. Students of the school have the opportunity to work towards their education in order to pay off their tuition and graduate debt-free. The site contains four buildings: the brewery, renovated from the pre-existing Greenville News building, two multi-use educational buildings, and an apartment complex. Open courtyards and interior greenhouses are located in

each academic building to fully immerse students within the growing landscape and blur the relationship between exterior and interior spaces. Terraced farmable land, used primarily to grow the barley and hops for the brewery (but supplemented by other crops), encapsulates the programmatic buildings and stretches into the adjacent park, connecting the park to the urban cityscape. The complex is intended to be self-sustaining: produce grown on site will be used for brewing processes as well as the culinary curriculum and excess food will be sold at the local farmer’s market to help supplement educational costs and the local economy.