University of Edinburgh
Architectural Design Option 1 Unit 4: Softspace/Loosefit Urbanism Year 3 Semester 1
Arable Urbanism
Adam James 0784302
Arable Urbanism
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Table of Contents
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05/06
07/08
09/10
11/12
13/14
15/16
17/18
Food and the City
The Site and the Future
Ground Floor Plan / Detail Section
First Floor Plan / Seasonal Diagrams
Sections
Food Programs
Market
Restaurant
Adam James / Portfolio MA / Table of Contents
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Food and the City Back at the birth of almost all towns and cities is food. As you can see from Map. 01 in Edinburgh food production sat on the outskirts of the city, wrapping the defensive wall / holding the shanty suburbs together. Food also penetrated into the heart of the city. You only have to look at the names of the places around you to see how food has shaped the city. Bread Street, Grassmarket, Haymarket, Cowgate. If you return to these once bustling places, you can almost imagine the processions of cattle, the bright colours and smells of seasonal veg, and the artisans enticing you with there crafted wares. These great market squares would of been a hub for massive amounts of activities. As much a social occasion as a means for a meal. Everyone from the rich gentry to the humble beggar would wander through these markets. They would handle there food, pick out exactly the shade, tone and consistancy of all there fruit and veg. Pick the animal to slaughter and eat over several meals. Importantly they would meet there supplier.
Arable Urbanism
As we move to the present day in western society this story, this life has vastly changed. As you can see in Map. 02 food has been pushed out of the city. These once great markets have dried up. Our food has been pushed to the periphery of the city. To supermarkets and plastic labels. I interviewed some 50 people in the street and only 3 people knew where any of there food came from. You just need to look at the facts and figures to realise the crisis that western culture finds itself in. As shown in Fig. 01 a standard meal for a single family has traveled in total 25,250km. The massive amount of energy needed in moving this food works out to be 10 calories of energy for every 1 calorie of food. That is not even taking into account the carbon emissions of the transportation and the energy required to offset that. In the UK if we sourced our food locally, as shown in fig. 02, and our farmers grew there food organically we would save an estimated 4 billion pounds per year. But instead often we source our food from the cheapest exporter. This raise’s another major issue. Because our food is produced so far away all the environmental and economical issues are not seen. The fertilizers that are polluting the rivers. The pesticides damaging the local wildlife. I would like to point out here that food grown locally = good and international crops = bad is not always true. There are sustainable farmers in other countries where it makes much more economical and environmental sense for them to produce and provide there crop. For example cocoa beans, coffee beans, bannanas and pineapples. The fairtrade alliances set up by some companies are truly helping. So what do we do? I believe if we bring food and its production back into the city. Raise awareness of the problems we are facing now, and the benefits of local seasonal produce. We can really start helping the environment and our culture by helping ourselves. A major precedent for this project is Michelle Obama’s act of creating an organic vegetable garden for the White House. Her belief being that “the American people should eat fresh, unprocesses and locally grown food.” According to the National Garden Association this act has caused 7 million more American’s to grow there own fruit and vegetables. That’s an 19% increase since last year.
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Map. 01
Fig. 01
1600. Working green spaces forming the city.
Map. 02
2009. showing working green spaces pushed out of the city.
Fig. 02
Total Meal Distance = 25,250km
Total Meal Distance = 135km
Adam James / Portfolio MA / Food Shaping
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The Site and the Future Throughout history there has always been a constant struggle between urbanisation and agriculture, technology and nature. Space is a prime concern between these opposites. But why can’t we create a blend of the two? Why does there have to be such a definate line between the two? My project seeks to entangle the two, and create an interesting juxtaposition between urban life and consumption. Car park with potatoes. Window shopper with a health fanatic. Food becomes the re-shaper of the city. Implanting into and importantly around the urban fabric.
Present day Edinburgh - Project start
2 Years later Edinburgh - Project influence spread to un-used spaces and green spaces within the city centre.
My project is born into the softspaces hidden within the urban fabric of the city centre. The alleyways and un-used courtyards. One such space becomes the anchor, the hub for bringing food back into the city. Three programs are implanted into this un-used space Crop terraces in the act of producing food itself, including an aeroponics centre producing food without seasonal constraints. A learning centre for food and its qualities by day, a restaurant using the food produced on site by night. The integration of the Farmers market into the heart of the city. These programs seek to re-engage members of the community, the wandering public, and the future generation of our culture. These first implants could be the initial design in a much larger plan. The projects ideals and thoughts reach out into the city as time passes. The three maps on the right begin to describe the possible course of action for the city. The city becomes a living entity. It creates it’s own life cycle, still dependant on certain imports, but almost entirely self sufficient.
Arable Urbanism
Major and minor green spaces thoughout the city could begin to produce crops. No longer just space for grass and the odd game of golf. No longer nature band aids, but production centres. Further unused softspaces could begin to be used. Waverly station roof, alleyways and rooftops. Community’s would potentially begin to form around there gardens. The green center of tenements bringing groups of students and familys down into the urban green fields. Queen Street gardens could re-open as an orchard as it was initially designed. The history of the city re-writing itself onto the space.
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Present day
5 Years later Edinburgh - Further project influence spread into green spaces and the public domain. Communal gardens and planting boxes.
Arable Urbanism hub
Crop terraces situated within Princes Street Gardens
Further development of green spaces - Queen Street garden orchard
Further development of un-used spaces - Waverly Station
Tenement gardens - Marchmont / Bruntsfield / New Town
Communal garden - Bruntsfield Links golf course
Adam James / Portfolio MA / Site and Future
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Arable Urbanism
Ground Floor Plan
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Diagram -
Showing potential project influence.
Adam James / Portfolio MA / Plan and Public
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Arable Urbanism
First Floor Plan
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Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
Adam James / Portfolio MA / Plan and Seasons
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Section A-A
Section B-B
Arable Urbanism
Section C-C
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Adam James / Portfolio MA / Sections
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Arable Urbanism
Food Programs - Farmers Market and “Source” Restaurant
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Adam James / Portfolio MA / Food Programs
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Arable Urbanism
Market
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The humble Farmers market is currently situated on Castle Terrace, a fine venue. However the increasing popularity of fresh fruit and veg has ment the market has out grown its space and seeks bigger accomodation. What better place than further into the centre of the city. Spilling out onto Princes Street and Rose Street the market creates a whirlwind of activity. Drawing in the permanent patrons and the more casual passers by. The window shopper walking along Princes Street becomes drawn into the noise of the market. The courtyard becomes a permeable gateway between the two streets. A destination experiance. A display case of its own technology. Still a weekly event, the market would begin to claim over the space. In between saturdays the market could begin to leave imprints onto the site. Stalls could begin to be occupied during the week. Coffee stand, lunch stall, a travelling busker.
Adam James / Portfolio MA / Farmers Market
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Arable Urbanism
Restaurant
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The restaurant is given an identity and a mission statement, an ethos. Source a name pertaining to the fact it is it’s own production centre. Possibly heralding to a font of water, the birth of something. The business would create good food using local produce to get people engaged with there food. The menu has been created to show an idea of what food would be produced. The meat and other specialised produce would be brought in with the Farmers market, using only local organic farmers. The restaurant kitchen is in full view from the courtyard. Chefs on stage, there acting producing food for there audience. The diners become the show during the night, the lights behind the glass shining out on the concrete. The restaurant also acts as a hub for teaching, where masterclasses would be held for people to learn about there food, its production, consumption and nutrition. Below is an example of a leaflet for the advertising of Source. Its honest writing is trying to distill feelings from the reader. The facts and figures it explains and the mission statement of the company, is trying to gather followers. Similar posters would be produced but a much quicker punchier message would be used.
Adam James / Portfolio MA / “Source� Restaurant
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