Separating Garden + Park
For this project, students were asked to design an urban garden center that would serve as an education demonstration facility for urban gardening. Students were encouraged to incorporate additional complementary program. Two additional programs were incorporated: office space for Community Food Lab, and indoor and outdoor teaching spaces for an urban gardening youth program. Community Food Lab is a Raleigh based food system design firm. The Urban Garden for Youth would teach disadvantaged youth how to grow and cook food. Together the two programs would help establish community gardens throughout the city, specifically in food deserts. The site is located in Dorothea Dix Park, former site of the Dorothea Dix Hospital, a mental health care facility, and prior to that, a farm. The City of Raleigh recently purchased the park property and its future use remains uncertain.
The goal of the scheme was to apply a geometric rigidity to an irregular site while maintaining a quiet presence. This goal was achieved by way of a retaining wall that separates Dorothea Dix Park and the facility’s gardens. The retaining wall begins at the entrance of the site, and then turns to nestle against the hillside to become a part of the main building. The massing of the building is a slender bar with two voids that serve as outdoor gathering spaces. The greenhouse is pushed away from the main facility, allowing the greenway to thread through the site. Rain gardens are located strategically and serve as gateways to main entrances. Building components are then extended out to connect to the rest of the site.
Raleigh Urban Garden for Youth
For this project, students were asked to design an urban garden center that would serve as an education demonstration facility for urban gardening. Two additional programs were incorporated: office space for Community Food Lab, a local food system design firm, and indoor and outdoor teaching spaces for an urban gardening youth program. The proposed facility provides space for the two organizations to collaborate on developing a network of community gardens throughout the city, specifically in food deserts.
Winner of the 2016 AIA Maryland Student Design Award