08A: Design Intervention Description (Final)

08A: Design Intervention Description

 

Design Intervention: Urban Farming

Phenomena of Focus: Scent / Fragrance

 

I) Research Questions

1. How can an urban farm create social cohesion in a community by facilitating positive interactions between people?
2. How can an urban farm increase community cohesion by allowing individuals to develop feelings of ownership and personal investment in the community?

II) Abstract

Urban farming provides the opportunity to engage smell, which is often neglected in architectural design. The scents present in an urban farm vary based on the species present, the time of year, and the scale at which individuals interact with the farm. While available to all, the multilayered smellscape in an urban farm, which changes and becomes more intense as one grows nearer to the planters, rewards those who engage most closely with new and different smells. An urban farm, therefore, provides the most hands-on community members with the most intense and interesting experiences. 

Urban farms are intricate systems, and the smells they produce are complex, emotional phenomena that change over space and time. Visiting existing local urban farms and gardens is an important step in the study and design of urban farms, as it allows the designer to understand what design strategies function best in the climate zone and how these spaces are used. A garden landscape catalog is a useful tool for understanding the actions and interactions of all members of the garden ecosystem. This tool also provides an understanding of the changing smells of the garden throughout the year as plants grow, bloom, and die. A planting plan provides a spatial understanding of the garden smellscape, showing adjacencies that create mixed scents. This tool also allows the designer to understand and shape the progression of the sensory experience as a user moves through the space. Finally, it is important to acknowledge that scent is a complex and memory-ladened phenomenon to which close attention is rarely paid in daily life. Taking some time to mindfully observe the smells of a place can help a designer be more aware of smell in general and the olfactory implications of their design decisions. 

III) Outline 

1. Abstract

Urban farming provides the opportunity to engage smell, which is often neglected in architectural design. The scents present in an urban farm vary based on the species present, the time of year, and the scale at which individuals interact with the farm. While available to all, the multilayered smellscape in an urban farm, which changes and becomes more intense as one grows nearer to the planters, rewards those who engage most closely with new and different smells. An urban farm, therefore, provides the most hands-on community members with the most intense and interesting experiences. 

Urban farms are intricate systems, and the smells they produce are complex, emotional phenomena that change over space and time. Visiting existing local urban farms and gardens is an important step in the study and design of urban farms, as it allows the designer to understand what design strategies function best in the climate zone and how these spaces are used. A garden landscape catalog is a useful tool for understanding the actions and interactions of all members of the garden ecosystem. This tool also provides an understanding of the changing smells of the garden throughout the year as plants grow, bloom, and die. A planting plan provides a spatial understanding of the garden smellscape, showing adjacencies that create mixed scents. This tool also allows the designer to understand and shape the progression of the sensory experience as a user moves through the space. Finally, it is important to acknowledge that scent is a complex and memory-ladened phenomenon to which close attention is rarely paid in daily life. Taking some time to mindfully observe the smells of a place can help a designer be more aware of smell in general and the olfactory implications of their design decisions.  

2. Background Theory

“Anchoring” by Steven Holl

This article describes the relationship between a design and its site, applauding architectural projects that occasionally align with their broader site in a striking way. This synchronization with and magnification of the site is something that can be achieved with an urban farm in Barcelona, as an urban farm can become especially meaningful during harvest festivals (such as la Festa de la Calçotada), allowing urban residents to engage more directly with these traditionally agricultural celebrations. 

“Towards a Self-Sufficient Habitat” by Vicente Guallart

In this article, Guallart lauds self-sufficiency within communities, including in food and agricultural production. While an urban farm in Barcelona will not be sufficient to provide food for an entire community, it allows community members to achieve a degree of ownership over food production and get a taste of self-sufficiency.

“Not Unlike Life Itself” by James Corner

In this article, Corner praises participatory design practices, especially for public projects. While community participation is inherent in the function of a public urban farm, it can be incorporated into the design of the farm as well by implementing a design that is flexible and open, allowing community members to modify, imprint on, and take ownership of the space.

3. Contextualization: Precedents

Tactical / Guerilla Urban Farm in Gracia, Barcelona

 

El Huerto Indignado del Poblenou, Barcelona

Casa Verde, Barcelona

 

The Urban Farm, University of Oregon

 

4. Data Collection: Vall de Núria and Sant Andreu

Time spent in Vall de Núria provided the experience of the natural sublime of Catalonia. Vall de Núria served as a laboratory for the focused observation of phenomena (light, sound, scent, etc.) and the subsequent recording and diagramming of these phenomena. Both the Catalonian ideal of natural beauty and a deeper understanding of sensory phenomena informed the urban farm design upon returning to Barcelona. The study of phenomena Núria informed the choice of smell as a phenomenological focus for an urban farm design in the neighborhood of Sant Andreu and the use of fragrance to bring the feel of nature to the city setting. While some sources of smells from Vall de Nuria (mostly plants) are applicable to Barcelona, others are unlikely to survive in the drier climate. Desirable feelings generated by smells in Vall de Nuria were translated to Barcelona and created with other sources/ plants more suited to the urban site, climate, and planting conditions. Because traditions and culture remain similar between Barcelona and Vall de Núria, it was assumed that the feelings experienced by residents evoked by these scents would remain similar as well. 

Refined Diagram of Scents in Vall de Núria:

5. Testing: Assessing Success

To assess success, it is important to define the parameters of success for a space. Because of the size of this project and the goal of community cohesion, metrics of success for an urban farm in Sant Andreu should be based on community engagement, not agricultural productivity. This success may be assessed by surveying community members, measuring how often the space is used, and measuring by whom the space is used (by individuals / groups / diverse demographics / etc.). The circle tool may be used to compare the community of Sant Andreu before and after the urban farm intervention to a community widely regarded to have a high level of social cohesion and engagement, such as Gracia, to assess the impact of the urban farm. Another metric of success for this space would be achieved if other communities tried to replicate this urban farm, as that would indicate that the social conditions it is generating are widely desirable. 

6. Findings

The scents in Vall de Nuria occurred on many levels, with some being more widely spread throughout the space and others existing only once you get close to the source. This layering approach was directly applied to the design of the smellscape for the urban farm in Sant Andreu and was used to draw people closer to the planters. While pleasant overall, the smellscape in Vall de Núria was made up of a mix of scent types: some that were traditionally pleasant (like flowers) with other natural scents (manure). This mix of scents was also directly applicable to a garden, which can include both flowers and compost (sweet and rotten smell types).

8. Conclusions

Overall, this urban farm design in Barcelona’s Sant Andreu neighborhood incorporated phenomenological design to magnify and support social interaction and community cohesion. Careful attention was paid to the olfactory implications of plant species selection to create a pleasant and varied smellscape throughout the space. With the goal of drawing passersby deeper into the space, a layered approach to smell was created by incorporating species with both strong and weaker scents. Species that bloom at different times were combined to create a changeful sensory environment that provides sensory interest over time, rewarding community members who are frequent visitors. These strategies were designed to engage all community members, both those predisposed to like the garden space and those who are not. Additionally, species selection included traditionally important crops, such as grapes and calçot, as well as staples of the daily Spanish diet, such as tomatoes. These choices were designed to support agricultural festivals, which are events that traditionally support community gathering, as well as interaction with the community space in one’s daily life. In its physical and phenomenological design, this urban farm provides the opportunity for increased social interactions and a more meaningful and engaged relationship between individuals and their community. 

 

(link to PDF of spread)