Here are a few quick drawings from the midterm pin-up on Monday, giving an overall idea of what my goals are in developing the project. I received some great feedback on what aspects are working and where improvement needs to be made. The major piece of advice that sticks out from the conversations I had, is to choose one thing and zoom in on it. My project has gotten extremely complex with a variety of functions such as housing, food production and restaurant venues, art classrooms and gallery space, as well as the educational aspect on how to grow local food as sustainable practices in the city. Because my initial interest was in food, I have decided to take this on whole-heartedly and to make this the central focus for my thesis. Art, retail, and housing can become secondary pieces that only support my development rather than taking center stage.

A few other things I need to consider in further design development is how my building connects to the spaces, paths, and buildings surrounding it by drawing a large context map and overlaying my ideas. Next, I need to develop the “gem” of my project, or the aspect of food and urban agriculture, figuring out exactly how this works from beginning to end and how people will use these spaces. (specific details) In zooming in on the “food” component, I need to put to rest the other parts by simply suggesting housing above with plugged-in floor plans from precedents that show spaces that prove to work well. Then I could color code the overall floor plans to differentiate uses, allowing myself the freedom to make the “gem” something special within the project and leaving the housing to be something quieter and less designed.