Miguel Bermudez

plank road food hub and research center

The intent of this project was to attempt to ingrate the residential neighborhoods adjacent to Plank Rd with the new proposed revitalization plan for the corridor. The objective is to pull the residents to the revitalized streetscape to fully activate the corridor. The design intends to accomplish this by proposing an urban park setting that ties into the program of the sites and the buildings. Furthermore, the food hub will offer  the community a mix of private and public spaces that includes a community kitchen, a cooking classroom, four available spaces for a startup restaurant, fresh products store and an indoor farming lab administered by the nearby Istrouma High School Aquaponics program.

So how do we connect the residential zone with the new revitalized commercial corridor in Plank Road? The intended program seeks to actively engage with the community by pulling residents through different ways involving the concept of a food hub. The community kitchen and learning kitchen are both key programs of the design because it gives an opportunity to residents of the area to either learn basic cooking skills or enhance their skills. Furthermore, the classes can help those who struggle to maintain a healthy diet. Another main program is the produce market along with the dedicated space for farmers market during the weekend. These two programs complement the community kitchen very well. During site visits it was noted that there is an existing restaurant that operates in the back of a convenience store off the corner of Mohican St and Plank Rd. This project proposes to incorporate the local restaurant into one of the buildings. Having local participation and involvement is crucial for the success of the food hub.

The design of the buildings incorporates various green strategies such as cross ventilation, sun shading, green roofing, and most importantly green cooling. The mass of the building was created through a process of addition and subtraction. The final design resembles a deconstructed building. It is here where the green cooling takes place. The voids created from the deconstruction of the mass were perfect to incorporate vegetation around the outside of the building at different levels thus creating a natural sunshade.

The floor plans of the site are organized based on the principle of public/private space. The closer the space is to Plank Rd the more public and commercial it is. Therefore, the farther away the space is from Plank Rd, the more private it turns.

The wall sections highlight the sun shading strategies through the use of vegetation, the various steel connections (including the exterior deconstructed structure to the main building) and the mechanical cross-ventilation design.