The past two weeks I’ve delved further into fleshing out the building. Important to the flow of the building program was the inclusion of the existing grain elevator. How could this existing structure be used effectively and in the tradition it was once used? Grain Elevators were functionally used for storing/testing and distributing to the flour/grain mills to be processed into food.
As my program began to take shape, including this process of storing and distributing was important. With food being grown on site, there are opportunities to shorten the cycle of making food and contain this process in a much smaller footprint (see diagrams). So food grown on site can be sold as raw food, or processed/canned, then stored on site and distributed along a market in the building and the riverfront.
While this doesn’t use the building exactly for what it was designed, I feel the program parti celebrates and acknowledges this tradition.
Post Wednesday pinup
After pinup this past week, and after some discussions with others I realized the other end of the site really needed to be further developed. This is the expanse to the north of the grain mill. The nature of the river is degrading and officially an area of concern (epa). The vision I have for this (see drawings) creates a stronger riparian (river edge), filters the soil, prevents sediment and stormwater runoff and creates a stronger ecological habitat along the river.
So with this organic approach is there a way the public portion of the building could take this concept on? The process of water reaching the river is broken down into different levels/phases/gardens in the drawings. Can pedestrians using the building do something similar? In all my schemes the actual food production has been raised 2 stories above ground level, is there an opportunity to use a different architectural language here that is more organic and related to what I’m doing north of the site? I’ve done some initial site/building diagramming of what this might look like. Right now I’m working on some sections and sketches, my goal for the weekend is to develop this idea and see where it can lead.
Also, post of process models will be posted in the near future.
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