Biodegradable Farm
This studio was one the most recent classes I took.The title in itself made it seem like a sustainable design
studio hence I participated when given to pick a class. However on reading the syllabus I understood the true
meaning of this course: To envision a new future for our particular city.
To point out it faults and embrace them, enable change within a our own city, not small change, but radical
change one that, would inspire us to live more sustainably.
As a result I explored Providence. I went on numerous walks all around the city, and the one discovery that
remained the same during all my excursions was the emptiness within the city , the emptiness caused by
uninhabited parking lots.Keeping that in mind I looked further for a site that allowed me to view that emptiness
in an enhanced manner. That's when I found my site: The Steel yard.
Located on the outskirts of downtown this site is visually an industrial playground, aesthetically it's a waterfront
property now unused and unpopulated. That’s when it struck me, what if this land was reclaimed to grow food,
Food that could be packaged in these abandoned factories nearby.
And that's when I began my research on biodegradable architecture, that would help provide this soil with
nutrients that would allow the ground to be fertilized. As well as act as a good way to encourage people to use
their compost waste, and form sculptures that would be act as temporary installations until they fulfilled their
true meaning of fertilizing the soil
Clean
The ground contains various impurities that would be cleared through agroforestry.
Fertilize
The ground would then be fertilized using compost sculptures.
Grow
Crops would be grown using rain water that would be harvested on the roof existing buildings and collected
in underground cisterns.
Consume
The site being an architectural hub, would be home to various farmers markets, built using
biodegradable material such as burlap, hemp and bamboo.
