Circle of Food

Page 1

Circle of Food a landscape architecture thesis Jessica Li

Melbourne School of Design Supervised by Professor Ray Green


Abstract This thesis is an experimental framework exploring how urban agriculture can be implemented in Arden-Macaulay with adaption to the existing structure plan by the City of Melbourne. The proposal aims to provide people at Arden-Macaulay psychological well-being and food education through the urban farm system, which will achieve the goal of ‘driving the circle of life by the circle of food’. A progressive plan will be drawn from the proposed road hierarchy system by the City of Melbourne within 40 years time frame in 4 stages (greenway, laneways, connectors and local centres), the scales and target users of the programs will evolve progressively according to the aging demographics of the residents in the area. The resolved framework will be the result of a collaboration between scientific and theoretical methodologies to reflect the sciences and arts of landscape architecture.


1. Background

Content

The Circle of Food Why? Urban Farming The Comparison The Programs Precedent Scientific Theory

3. The Design 5 7 9 16 19 20 24

The Sites (A, B, C) Design Process Urban Farm System Story of Polly Plant Selection Evaluation

2. Arden-Macaulay

4. References

Demographics Existing Context Long-term Plan Lynch Map Unoccupied Lots The Vision Site Selection

References

27 32 33 34 35 36 53

57 58 66 74 90 92

94


1. Background


The Circle of Food

Distribution

Cooking

Agriculture

Serve

Background 5


Sustainable agriculture is defined as “agriculture that follows the principles of nature to develop systems for raising crops and livestock that are, like nature, self-sustaining.” Source: Fox, T. (2011)

The “Circle of Food” represents the food cycle people experience everyday from food production at varied-size farms to distribution at grocery stores, then process through cooking and finally a delicious meal is served. Moreover, the food waste from cooking and serving can potentially be used as compost in agriculture. There is a complete cycle of food. The aim of this thesis is to drive the “circle of life” by the “circle of food”. There are two major reasons behind this contention: (1) food waste; (2) food education. Australia as a nation wastes $8 billion worth of edible food every year. Nowadays, children lack food education, therefore they tend not to appreciate or recognise food. It is important to educate our next generation about agriculture and food. 6 Background

This thesis will demonstrate how the “circle of food” will drive the “circle of life”. Daily life and life-long life will be represented through arousing/pleasure experience and food education at the hybrid urban farm design respectively. Various programmes will be designed to achieve these two major goals. The design will be presented as an experimental framework adapting the existing Arden-Macaulay structural plan by the City of Melbourne. The proposed 40 years progress strategy and street hierarchy by the City of Melbourne will also be used as the guideline to present the potential stages of this thesis.


Why?

Australia

Every Australian average household discards 1 out of 5 bags of purchase. Over 40% of the bin is food waste. Every year, every Australian average household throws around $1000 worth of food, which can feed an average household for a month and equal to 6 months of electricity bill. Australia as a nation, we throw out $8 billion worth edible food every year, which equals to 4 million tonnes of food. Therefore, there are 3 average size fridges of food per household. Fresh food takes up the largest portion of food waste. It is essential to educate the public, especially the next generation about the value of fresh food and appreciate it.

The entire nation throw out $8 billion worth edible food every year 4 million tonnes of food every year = 3 average size fridges of food per household

Variety of food waste

7%

9%

Takeaways

Frozen Food

9% Drinks

33% Fresh Food

15%

Packaged & Long-life Products

27% Leftovers

20% of purchase over 40% of bin is food

discard up to

around $1000 of food is thrown away every year = feed average household over a month = 6 months of electricity bill Source: Do Something (2017)

Background 7


=

?

Holding up some tomatoes, Oliver asked:

“Do you know what these are?” He was met with stumped faces until one boy shouted:

“Potatoes!”

Source: Gamble, L. (2014)

over 1,600 Australian children between 6 - 17 years old

92% didn’t know bananas grew on plants. Source: Koelma, G. (2014)

Source: Oliver, J. (2015)

8 Background


“Urban farming defined in simple terms is the growing, processing, and distribution of food and other products through intensive plant cultivation and animal husbandry Source: Bailkey, M. & J, N. (2000) in and around cities� Horizontal

CERES community environment park, Melbourne, Australia

Vertical

Newark Farm, New Jersey, U.S.A

Pocket

HK Farm, Hong Kong

Urban Farming

Source: CERES (2016); AeroFarms (2017); HK Farm (2015)

Background 9


Horizontal Farming is defined in this thesis as any farm larger than 1 hectare near or within urban setting and developed on ground level basis

10 Background


CERES community environment park Melbourne, Australia - non-profit sustainability centre - 4.5 hectares on the Merri Creek in East Brunswick, Melbourne - intend to provide a place for community-based learning and action - various community activities including extensive environmental education programs, urban agriculture projects, green technology demonstrations and a number of social enterprises including a market, grocery, cafĂŠ, community kitchen, organic online supermarket and a permaculture and bushfood nursery Source: CERES (2016)

Farming

Community

Local Economy

Job Employment

Education

Background 11


Vertical Farming is defined in this thesis as “a way of producing food in vertically stacked layers using co n t ro l l e d - e n v i ro n m e n t agriculture technology� Source: Hoppe, J. (2016)

12 Background


Newark Farm New Jersey, U.S.A - 400 Ferry Street, Newark - 0.27 hectare (30,000 square feet) - former indoor paintball and laser tag arena - productive farm invested and managed by American agriculture company, AeroFarms, which aims to “transform agriculture by leveraging our patented technology and farming locally� with the use of modern technology Source: AeroFarms (2016); Garfield, L. (2016)

1

Aeroponics

process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without soil

Replace sunlight with LED lights

2

Hydroponics

a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions in water and without soil

Fertiliser spray regularly

Fans spin continuously

2 million pounds of leafy greens Background 13


Pocket Farming is defined in this thesis as a practice of utilising unused land in urban environment from spare plots to rooftops which are relatively in smaller scale Source: Pocket City Farms (2015)

14 Background


HK Farm Ngau Tau Kok, Hong Kong - 4000 square feet rooftop on an industrial building in Ngau Tau Kok - founded by designer, Micheal Leung, and compatriots Matthew Edmondson and Glenn Ellingsen - grow organic herbs and vegetables - open the farm and sell the produce to public on Saturdays and Sundays, - represented Hong Kong at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2012 Source: Pocket HK Farm (2015); Alberts, H,. (2012)

HK Farm

THE GOAL Trade

soil from local farmers

food waste from local restaurants to make fertilisers

Food waste

Local cafes/residents Background 15


“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.� Source: World Commission on Environment and Development (1987)

16 Background


The Comparison Sustainability

Performance

Environmental

Produce

Horizontal Farming

Vertical Farming

Pocket Farming

medium

high

low

high

medium

low

high

low

high

high

low

high

medium

high

low

medium

high

low

Space Requirement

Education

Social Community

Economic

Trade

Cost

Background 17


The Comparison Sustainability

Environmental

Social

Performance

Horizontal Farming

Vertical Farming

Advantage

remains existing environment as much as possible by adding soil and crates without large infrastructure

uses indoor space within abandoned buildings, especially warehouses

uses spare space around the city, such as pocket parks or rooftops

Disadvantage

changing the local environmental surroundings, such as attracting pests and animals

requires high amount of electricity which is potentially generated using fossil fuels

changing the local environemntal surroundings; rooftop garden may damage building structure

strengthens community bonding by social activities

encourages technology research

encourage local community to participate by casual setting

lacks of privacy for alone time and potential loss of produced due to shared garden

requires a few people to operate, very low social interaction

limited space to accomodate people

provides local economy income

year-round crops for income

provides local cafes affordable local ingredients

takes up spaces for other potential development

expensive to maintain operation

unable to support local economy by large scaled farming

Advantage

Disadvantage

Economic

Advantage

Disadvantage

18 Background

Pocket Farming


The Programmes Horizontal Farming

Greenhouse

Animal Farm

Garden Patch

Market

Cafe

Restaurant

Restrooms

Ventilation

Stacked Plants

Office

Laboratory

Restrooms

Learning Centre

Children Playground

Vertical Farming

LED lights

Fertiliser Spray

Pocket Farming

Plant pots

Learning Centre

Seats

Background 19


My Space by Liya Mairson - created by a graduate from Shenkar Institute for Engineering and Design - cardboard folding play area designed for children aged 3-6 - developed to fit small space for a play room - folding design for easy storage - disadvantages: possibly easy to be damaged; not suitable for outdoor environment Source: Designboom (2010)

20 Background


Kitchen Kids by Josefine Bentzen and Charlotte Skak - created by Denmark-based designers Josefine Bentzen and Charlotte Skak - kitchenwares made specifically for children - allows safe participation and encorages healthy lifestyles at young age - by using colours and forms to highlight the dangerous parts of the kitchen tools Source: Designboom (2011)

Background 21


Adam Wiercinski uses container frames and grid to build modular kids city - created by Polish architect Adam Wiercinski - used recycled container frames and grid organization to build ‘kids city’ as a modular kindergarten - appearance was dictated by how children typically imagine buildings - small ‘cottages’ with sloping roofs - different sizes and modules allows the flexibility of varied building arrangement to adapt all sorts of neefs and developments Source: Designboom (2015)

22 Background


Horizontal Farming

Pocket Farming

Educational Programmes

? Overall Form

Vertical Farming

Educational Programmes

Background 23


Scientific Theory Psychological well-being Psychological well-being can be driven by (1) social adhesion and (2) healthy diet. Social relationships play a key role in our well-being (Cohen, S. 2004). “The structures of our social networks, the support we receive from others, the quality and quantity of our social interactions, and our feelings of isolation and loneliness have all been identified as predictors of health and well-being. Cohen focused on two major properties which contribute to psychological well-being: (1) social integration and (2) social support.”Social integration is defined as participation in a broad range of social relationships.” The level of social integration depends on how much active engagement in various types of social activity or relationship, and it is a positive correlation between them. Social support is defined as the provision of psychological and material resources by a social network to assist an individual’s ability to cope with stress. However, not all scenarios are ideal. Negative interactions may lead to psychological stress. Therefore, it is important to implement programs that increase the chance for social support and social integration but reduces negative interactions.

24 Background

Healthy eating habit associates with better mental health (BeyondBlue 2010). Eating a wide variety of nutritious food gives people an overall sense of well-being. Different kinds of food can improve mood, maintain healthy brain functioning and help people with depression, anxiety and related disorders. For example, eating lean meat, fish and poultry provides good source of protein and long chain omega-3 fatty acids. A healthy diverse diet is a good preventative measure for mental health, as well as physical health. Source: Cohen, S. (2004), BeyondBlue (2010)

Social Adhesion

Healthy Diet

Psychological Well-being


Source: Cohen, S. (2004)

Background 25


2. The Site


Arden-Macaulay is the third populated area of The City of Melbourne, after CBD and Docklands. Over 40% of households are family-based, which family is defined as two or more persons with one of whom is at least 15 years old, who are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption, step or fostering, and who are usually resident in the same household.

According to long-term plan and street hierachy plan by the City of Melbourne, new activity centres will be designed to accomodate future population and facilitate the new Arden Station. The hybrid urban farm may provide the existing and future residents alternative destinations to go and strengthen the connection between Kensington and North Melbourne.

Moreover, there are a lot of unoccupied lots at ArdenMacaulay due to its former industrial site. Arden-Macaulay will provide future young population and space as a suitable testground for the hybrid urban farm implementation.

This experimental framework is proposed to be carried out among 40 years time frame, which is the existing vision by the City of Melbourne for the new Arden Station. Details regarding to site selction will be illustrated in this chapter.

Source: City of Melbourne (2013)

Arden-Macaulay 27


KEY METRICS

KENSINGTON

NORTH MELBOURNE

CITY OF MELBOURNE

AGE & RACE R E S I D E N T I A L P O P U L AT I O N

9, 790 (10% OF CIT Y OF MELBOURNE)

11,754 (13% OF CIT Y OF MELBOURNE)

93,627

YOUNGER RESIDENTS (12-25YEARS)

18%

29%

33%

OLDER RESIDENTS (60YE ARS +)

10%

11%

10%

MEDIAN AGE

32

29

28

RESIDENTS BORN OVERSEAS

32%

41%

48%

M O S Y C O M M O N L A N G U A G E S P O K E N AT HOME (OTHER THAN ENGLISH)

MANDARIN (4%)

MANDARIN (8%)

MANDARIN (10%)

W E E K LY P E R S O N A L I N C O M E < $ 3 0 0

17%

24%

26%

W E E K LY P E R S O N A L I N C O M E > $ 1 2 5 0

28%

18%

23%

M E D I A N P E R S O N A L W E E K LY I N C O M E

$921

$613

$711

FINANCIAL INCOME

Source: The City of Melbourne (2013)

28 Arden-Macaulay

Demographics of Arden Macaulay


KEY METRICS

KENSINGTON

NORTH MELBOURNE

CITY OF MELBOURNE

E D U C AT I O N H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N ( U N I V E R S I T Y ) S T U D E N T S

10%

18%

21%

BACHELOR DEGREE OR HIGHER

39%

37%

40%

M O S T P R O M I N E N T B U I LT S PA C E

R E S I D E N T I A L A C C O M O D AT I O N

R E S I D E N T I A L A C C O M O D AT I O N

OFFICE

MOST PROMINENT INDUSTRY BY FLOOR

A R T S A N D R E C R E AT I O N S E R V I C E S

MANUFACTURING

A R T S A N D R E C R E AT I O N S E R V I C E S

MOST PROMINENT INDUSTRY BY EMPLOYMENT

A R T S A N D R E C R E AT I O N S E R V I C E S

BUSINESS SERVICES

BUSINESS SERVICES

C AFE/RESTAUR ANT/BISTRO

30

90

1951

FOOD COURT

0

0

32

B A R / TAV E R N / P U B / N I G H TC L U B

2

17

252

O F F I C E S P A C E ( M 2)

58,694

128,186

5,204,070

V A C A N T F L O O R S P A C E ( M 2)

63,093

182,002

3,092,962

B U I LT S PA C E U S E

Demographics of Arden Macaulay

Arden-Macaulay 29


Industrial Building

Potential to activate street for social interaction

Amenity for Cyclists

Resid

Moonee Ponds Creek Amenity for Cyclists 30 Arden-Macaulay


Wall of industrial building block visibility

dential Buillding

Potential to activate existing green space for social interaction

Train Connection

Amenity for Cyclists

Arden-Macaulay 31


Tram 55 to West Coburg

Tram 57 to West Maribyrnong Train to Upfield

Melbourne Zoo

Newmarket Flemington Bridge

Royal Park Flemington Racecourse

The Royal Children’s Hospotal

Boundary Road Reserve Kensington Macaulay

Clayton Reserve

University of Melbourne The Royal Hospital Tram 19/59 to North Coburg/ Airport West

North Melbourne Recreation Centre South Kensington

North Melbourne Football Club

Parkville

Arden

Legend Recreation

Rail

Water

Medical Institution

Tram Route

Parcel

Proposed Rail Station

Proposed Underground Rail

(Metro Tunnel 2016)

Á

Rail Station

(Metro Tunnel 2016)

Tram 55 to Domain Interchange

Tram 55 to Flinders Street Station

Green Space

Tram 19/59 to Flinders Street Station

Site Boundary Train to City

Á North Melbourne

32 Arden-Macaulay

[

0

125

250

500

750

Meters 1,000

Existing Context Map

Source: City of Melbourne (2013)


Tram 55 to West Coburg

Tram 57 to West Maribyrnong Train to Upfield

Melbourne Zoo

Newmarket Flemington Bridge

Royal Park Flemington Racecourse

The Royal Children’s Hospotal Kensington Macaulay

University of Melbourne The Royal Hospital Tram 19/59 to North Coburg/ Airport West

South Kensington

Parkville

Arden

Tram 55 to Domain Interchange

Legend Proposed Arden Central

Potential School Site

Proposed Local Activity Centres

Retained Community Centre

Proposed Mixed Use Activities

Proposed Community Centre

Tram 55 to Flinders Street Station

Tram 19/59 to Flinders Street Station

Retained Residential Activities Retained Commercial Activities Retained Industrial Activities

Long-term Plan Source: City of Melbourne (2013)

Train to City

Ă North Melbourne

[

0

125

250

500

750

Meters 1,000

Arden-Macaulay 33


Tram 55 to West Coburg

Tram 57 to West Maribyrnong Train to Upfield

Melbourne Zoo

Newmarket

SPORTS PRECINCT

Flemington Bridge RACECO

URSE RD

MOTOR PRECINCT

PARSON

S ST

EP SO

ALFRED

M

Royal Park

ST

MELROS

BUNCLE

BOUNDA

ST

E ST

RD

C PM N

A

ARDEN ST

HAINES

ST

ST

D ST

RK HA

Tram 19/59 to North Coburg/ Airport West

OSHANASS

Y ST

Parkville

EY TN

UR

O ST ST

ST

CHAPEL ST

Retail Precinct

HOWARD

CHETWYND

Industrial Precinct

ENROL ST

CURZON

ST

Residential Precinct

LEVESON ST

Edge

Tram 55 to Domain Interchange

C

RETAIL PRECINCT

Legend Node

The Royal Hospital

ER

ABBOTSFOR

DRYBURGH

RD

SPORTS PRECINCT

ST

ST

Y

LA

GREEN ST

WOOD ST

Arden

Landmark

University of Melbourne

HA

T

LS

IE

SH

ST

INDUSTRIAL PRECINCT

AU

FORD

INDUSTRIAL PRECINCT

ST

ST

AC

LANG

TE

N

CIE

INDUSTRIAL PRECINCT

ST

ST

TO

CANNING

M

D

N

SO

Y NN

ST

G

RESIDENTIAL PRECINCT

RD

RA

ST

SR

South Kensington

MACAULAY

G

NA

ON

TO

BS

SPORTS PRECINCT

BROUGHAM

ERSKINE

RESIDENTIAL PRECINCT

RESIDENTIAL PRECINCT

AL

HO

INDUSTRIAL PRECINCT

Macaulay

The Royal Children’s Hospotal

ST

IN

IN

NS

KE

RD

MARK ST

EM

N

O GT

CURRAN

ST

FL

Kensington RETAIL PRECINCT

ST RY RD

SUTTON

ROBERTSON

Y ST

RESIDENTIAL PRECINCT

SMITH ST

FOGART

C

IN

PR

ST OOD EASTW IR ST BELLA

ES

MCCRACKEN ST

RD

Flemington Racecourse

Y HW

Tram 55 to Flinders Street Station

Tram 19/59 to Flinders Street Station

Sports Precinct Train to City

Motor Precinct

34 Arden-Macaulay

Á North Melbourne

[

0

125

250

500

750

Meters 1,000

Lynch Map


Legend Unoccupied Lots Site Boundary Moonee Ponds Creek

Unoccupied Lots Source: City of Melbourne (2013)

[

0

125

250

500

750

Meters 1,000

Arden-Macaulay 35


The Vision Urban Farm System

place with high connectivity

place near school

psychological well-being

food education

social adhesion

healthy diet

daily ‘circle of life’ 36 Arden-Macaulay

appreciation of food

understanding of agriculture

lifelong ‘circle of life’


Proposed New Arden Station Existing Development Potential New Development

present

Life-long ‘Circle of Life’ 1st generation

couple

10

20 - Arden Station Completion - Hybrid Urban Farm implement within Greenways

baby

30 - Hybrid Urban Farm implement within Laneways

child

40 years - Hybrid Urban Farm implement within Connectors (Secondary Road)

adult

- Hybrid Urban Farm implement within Local Centres (Primary Road)

elderly

2nd generation

baby

child

Arden-Macaulay 37


Across the 40 years time frame, the hybrid urban farms will be located at Greenways in the first 10 years, then Laneways, Connectors and Local Centres in the next 30 years respectively, each street category will be developed 10 years apart. Arousing/pleasure experience will be designed to reflect daily “circle of life”, and food education will be designed to reflect life-long “circle of life”.

38 Arden-Macaulay

In order to achieve the two major goals: (1) psychological well-being (2) food education, the site must be well connected and close to educational institutes. Centroids will be generated from the existing parcels within Arden-Macaulay and buffered to count the number of road start/ end/intersection points in order to measure connectivity of each parcel. Existing and potential education sites will be identified to measure the parcels’ proximity to educational institutes.


1. create start point/end point/ intersection of road network

2. 400m buffer (5mins walk) from centroids of individual parcel

3. count number of points within each centroid buffer zone; higher the number, better the connectivity

4. 400m buffer (5mins walk) from existing/potential educational sites

5. locate parcel with high connectivity and within 400m from educational sites

6. identify candidates sites

Arden-Macaulay 39


Legend Number of Intersections 7 - 24 25 - 42 43 - 57 58 - 74 Area within 400m from Existing/Potential Educational Use Arden-Macaulay Parcel Road

40 Arden-Macaulay

[

0

125

250

500

750

Meters 1,000

Potential Sites within Site Boundary and Walking Distance to Educational Institutes


Legend Greenways Laneways Connectors Local Centres Arden-Macaulay Parcel

[ Street Hierachy Plan by the City of Melbourne Source: City of Melbourne (2013)

0

125

250

500

750

Meters 1,000

Arden-Macaulay 41


Legend

Legend

Distance to Closest Greenways

42 Arden-Macaulay

Distance to Closest Laneways

2 - 25

0 - 13

26 - 44

14 - 31

45 - 76

32 - 63

77 - 115

64 - 117

Arden-Macaulay

Arden-Macaulay

Parcel

Parcel

Greenways

Laneways

Cadidates Sites with Proximity to 4 Street Hierachy


Legend

Legend

Distance to Closest Connectors

Cadidates Sites with Proximity to 4 Street Hierachy

Distance to Closest Local Centres

14 - 50

17 - 146

51 - 95

147 - 236

96 - 148

237 - 339

149 - 232

340 - 474

Arden-Macaulay

Arden-Macaulay

Parcel

Parcel

Connectors

Local Centres

Arden-Macaulay 43


Legend Suitable Locations

44 Arden-Macaulay

Legend Suitable Locations

Arden-Macaulay

Arden-Macaulay

Parcel

Parcel

Greenways

Laneways

Cadidates Sites with Highest Proximity to 4 Street Hierachy


Legend Suitable Locations Arden-Macaulay Parcel Connectors

Cadidates Sites with Highest Proximity to 4 Street Hierachy

Legend Suitable Locations Arden-Macaulay Parcel Local Centres

Arden-Macaulay 45


Connectivity

46 Arden-Macaulay

Proximity to Educational Institutions

Water Resource

Sun Exposure

Land Stability

After selecting the candidate sites in terms of connectivity and proximity to educational institutes, it is essential to evaluate those candidate sites in terms of basic requirements for an urban farm. There will be three criterias to be used to select the most suitable site for the implementation of the hybrid urban farm. Water resource will be examined by locating any streams or lakes from the existing topography of Arden-Macaulay. North-facing aspect will be identified to find the candidate site with the optimal sun exposure. Flat candidate site will be selected by examining the existing slope condition of Arden-Macaulay. The candidate sites which satisfy all five criterias will be the best sites for the experimental framework.


Legend Arden-Macaulay Moonee Pond Creek

Elevation 33 - 36 29 - 33 26 - 29 22 - 26 19 - 22 15 - 19 12 - 15 8 - 12 5-8 1-5

[ Existing Topography Map

Source: Spatial Datamart Victoria (2016)

0

125 250

500

750

Meters 1,000

Arden-Macaulay 47


Legend Arden-Macaulay

Aspect North Northwest West Southwest South Southeast East Northeast North Flat

[ 48 Arden-Macaulay

0

125 250

500

750

Meters 1,000

Aspect Map

Source: Spatial Datamart Victoria (2016)


Legend Arden-Macaulay Flat Not Suitable Suitable

[ Aspect Suitability Map

Source: Spatial Datamart Victoria (2016)

0

125 250

500

750

Meters 1,000

Arden-Macaulay 49


Legend Arden-Macaulay

Degree Range 84.29 - 90.00 45.00 - 84.29 24.89 - 45.00 12.13 - 24.89 5.71 - 12.13 2.66 - 5.71 1.43 - 2.66 0.57 - 1.43 0 - 0.57

[ 50 Arden-Macaulay

0

125 250

500

750

Meters 1,000

Slope Map

Source: Spatial Datamart Victoria (2016)


Legend Arden-Macaulay Not Suitable Suitable

[ Slope Suitability Map

Source: Spatial Datamart Victoria (2016)

0

125 250

500

750

Meters 1,000

Arden-Macaulay 51


Legend Arden-Macaulay Not Suitable Suitable Most Suitable

[ 52 Arden-Macaulay

0

125 250

500

750

Meters 1,000

Aspect/Slope Suitability Map

Source: Spatial Datamart Victoria (2016)


Site Selection The sites for the experimental framework are the candidate sites that meet the five criterias: (1) high connectivity (2) high proximity to educational institutes (3) high water availability (4) high sun exposure (5) stable landform. Arden-Macaulay is situated at low land area where rainwater flows naturally into the site from higher ground. The candidates sites which are located at north-facing area are chosen for the optimal sun exposure in the southern hemisphere. The hybrid urban farm must be located on a stable ground in order to provide accessibility for all and stability for maintenance.

Arden-Macaulay 53


Legend

Legend

Suitable Locations

Suitable Locations

Arden-Macaulay

Arden-Macaulay

Parcel

Parcel

Greenways

[ 54 Arden-Macaulay

Stage 1 0

125 250

500

750

Meters 1,000

Laneways

[

Stage 2 0

125 250

500

750

Meters 1,000

Site Selection Result


Legend

Legend

[ Site Selection Result

Suitable Locations

Suitable Locations

Arden-Macaulay

Arden-Macaulay

Parcel

Parcel

Connectors

Local Centres

Stage 3 0

125 250

500

750

Meters 1,000

[

Stage 4 0

125 250

500

750

Meters 1,000

Arden-Macaulay 55


3. The Design


ALFRED

BOUNDA RY RD

ST

MARK ST

BUNCLE ST

SUTTON

ST

MAC MA M ACA AC AULA LA AY RD D

CIE

ST

RA

G

Y

LA AU

AC

M

ORD ST

FOGARTY

ST

RD

LANGF

GREEN ST

ARDEN ST

Y ROAD

Y ROAD

STEEL ST REET

BOUNDAR

STREET

Continue from the selection for candidate sites of the 4 stages, the best 3 sites of stage 1 have been used to demonstrate the urban farm system design in this thesis. Those 3 sites are labelled as Site A, B and C which represent the 3 components of the urban farm system: (1) Production, (2) Innovation and (3) Sharing.

LANGFORD

The Sites (A, B, C)

MACAULA

Site A Site B Site C

STRAKER

STREET

[ The Design 57


Design Process After the site selection in the scale of Arden-Macaulay with the use of GIS, the sites (A, B, C) have been selected to demonstrate how the speculation can be implemented to the site-specific scale. In order to identify the areas which are suitable for either indoor or outdoor programs, shadow analysis with the use of grasshopper script is carried out. The precedents used to define horizontal, vertical and pocket farming are also used to define the proportion between indoor and outdoor areas among the three sites (A, B, C).

58 The Design


Grasshopper Script for Shadow Study

The Design 59


Summer (December - February)

Autumn (March - May)

NO

RT

RT

H

H

H

H

9am

NO

RT

RT

RT

RT

H

H

H

H

1pm

1pm

1pm

NO

NO

NO

RT

RT

RT

RT

[

[

[

NO

[

H

H

H

H

5pm

9am

[

NO

NO

[

[

NO

[ 5pm

[

NO

RT

RT

9am

1pm

Spring (September - November)

[

NO

[

NO

[ 9am

60 The Design

Winter (June - August)

5pm

5pm

Shadow Study Result


Y ROAD

BOUNDAR

LANGFORD

Y ROAD

MACAULA

STREET

STEEL ST REET

M

STREET

AC

STRAKER

AU LA Y RO

NO

AD

[

RT

H

Vic Catalanos Auto Centre (Total Area: 863m2)

ST

Potential Area for Outdoor Programmes (225m2)

EE L ST RE ET

Site A

BOU

ND

ROA Y AR

D

The Design 61


Y ROAD

BOUNDAR

LANGFORD

Y ROAD

MACAULA

STREET

STEEL ST REET

M AC

STRAKER

AU

STREET

LA Y RO

NO

AD

[

RT

H

Unoccupied Lot with Existing Building (Total Area: 889m2)

ST EE L ST RE ET

62 The Design

BOU

ND

ROA Y R A

D

Site B


Y ROAD

BOUNDAR

LANGFORD

Y ROAD

MACAULA

OE & DR Pope Pty Ltd

ST

STREET

STEEL ST REET

EE L

STREET

ST

STRAKER

RE ET

NO

[

RT

H ST RA KE R ST RE ET

Site C

BOU

ND

ROA Y R A

D

Potential Area for Street Pocket Farm (Total Area: 374m2) Potential Area for Outdoor Programmes (236m2)

The Design 63


CERES Community Environment Park Stewart St & Roberts St, Brunswick East VIC 3057

HK Farm

140 Wai Yip Street, Ngau Tau Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Total Area: 41937 m2

Total Area: 6593 m2

Total Area: 172 m2

Indoor Area: 4297 m2 = 10.2%

Indoor Area: 6212 m2 = 94.22%

Indoor Area: 16.9 m2 = 9.83%

Outdoor Area: 37640 m2 = 89.8%

Outdoor Area: 381 m2 = 5.78%

Outdoor Area: 155.1 m2 = 90.17%

Scenrio #1: Lots with Potential Space Indoor programmes: abundant Outdoor programmes: abundant Suitable for: horizontal farming partly on occupied lot / fully on unoccupied lot

64 The Design

Newark Farm

400 Ferry Street, Newark, New Jersey, USA

Scenrio #2: Unoccupied Warehouses Indoor programmes: abundant Outdoor programmes: scarce Suitable for: vertical farming within the building

Scenrio #3: Occupied Lots

Indoor programmes: scarce Outdoor programmes: scarce Suitable for: pocket farming coordinated with streetscape


The 3 precedents define the proportion between indoor and outdoor areas, as well as the minimum requirements for horizontal, vertical and pocket farming needed to be applied into the design. 3 different scenarios identified to suit various candidate sites. In Scenario #1, lots with potential space have abundant outdoor space which is highly suitable for horizontal farming. If the lot is unoccupied, the entire lot can be possibly farmed. Otherwise, negotiation between the community and existing land owner will be required to determine how much land can be farmed without disruption to the existing business. In Scenario #2, unoccupied warehouse provides abundant indoor space for vertical farming. In Scenario #3, occupied lots will be suitable for pocket farming by integrating with the streets.

The Design 65


Urban Farm System The best 3 sites of the first stage, Greenways, are used to demonstrate the 3 components of the urban farm system: (1) Production, (2) Innovation and (3) Sharing. The cycle of these 3 components will enhance social adhesion by providing activities for people to interact with each other, and encourage healthy diet to the community in order to maintain psychological well-being of the residents in Arden-Macaulay. Nonetheless, it will also increase the exposure of agriculture to educate people about food and raise the appreciation of food. If there is abundant amount of resources, more urban farm system will be implemented at other candidate sites at the following stages after this urban farm system is completed successfully.

66 The Design


CITYLINK F R E E WAY MOONEE PONDS CREEK

SHARING

I N N O VAT I O N

PRODUCTION

[ NOR CBD

FL

RNE

TO EM

BOU

m IN

MEL

2k GT ON

TO 4km

TH

RA CE CO UR SE

STE

TR EL S

LAN

EET

BO

MAC

AUL

AY

ROA

GFO

RD

STR

EET

D

UN RO

TO

RY

m

DA

2k

AD

TH E UN IV ER SI TY OF M EL BO

UR

4km

NE 2.5km TO MELBOURNE ZOO

TO

MOO

VAL NEE

LEY

RAC

ECO

URS

E

The Design 67


1 Abandoned Container as Tool Shed and Leisure Place Plot for Community Rental

Existing Automobile Shop

PRODUCTION

ND BOU

ARY

ROA

D

M AC AU LA Y RO AD

Carpark

68 The Design

Site A


Site A Perspective

The Design 69


2 Passage to Basement Library

Outdoor Vertical Farm

Fresh Produce Vending Machine I N N O VAT I O N

EE STR

EV TL

M

BAS

EL

AC

EME

NT

AU LA Y RO AD

Laboratory Toilet

Passage to Street Level Biogas Generator

70 The Design

Site B


ELEC

ME TH AN E

FI LT R AT

BASE

Site B Perspective

IO N

FE RT IL IS

T R IC IT

Y

ER

C ROBI ANAE RIA E T C BA

MEN

T The Design 71


3

Community Kitchen

Retail Section

Existing Carpark

Abandoned Container used as Pocket Space for Idea Share Centre

SHARING

ND BOU

ARY

ROA

D

ST RA KE R ST RE ET

72 The Design

Flexible Balcony for Home Garden Display

Site C


Site C Perspective

The Design 73


The Story of Polly An imaginative personnel, Polly, is created to depict the experience within the Urban Farm System at personal scale. Her experience during the 4 stages among 40 years demonstrates how ‘the circle of food will drive the circle of life’ on both daily and life-long basis. She is a 15 years old teenager who starts to grow her plot during stage 1. At stage 2, she meets her future husband, Paul while she is planting at her plot. At stage 3, the couple is married and have a daughter together, who is called Pippa. At stage 4, young Pippa turns into teenage period, and follows her mum’s step to contribute into the urban farm system.

74 The Design

10 years later Stage 1


SITE A Production

Let’s meet 15 year-old Polly! The garden enthusiast is growing her own plot.

The Design 75


76 The Design

After lunch, she pours her food waste into the biogas generator to generate electricity for self-sustaining innovation centre.

SITE B Innovation


SITE C Sharing

She volunteers at the retail section for pop-up sharing centre after school.

The Design 77


20 years later Stage 2

78 The Design


SITE A Production

Polly is turning 25 years old. She met her future husband, Paul while she’s growing her plot. The Design 79


She uses her university knowledge to help research on vertical farming. 80 The Design

SITE B Innovation


SITE C Sharing

She learns how to cook with the produces from her plot at the community kitchen where the grandma in the neighbourhood gives lessons.

The Design 81


30 years later Stage 3

82 The Design


SITE A Production

35 year-old Polly married Paul. They had a daughter called Pippa (who is 6 years old at this stage).

The Design 83


84 The Design

During lunchtime at work, Polly shops from the fresh produce vending machine.

SITE B Innovation


SITE C Sharing

When Polly is free during weekend afternoon, she likes to share home garden ideas at the flexible balcony.

The Design 85


40 years later Stage 4

86 The Design


SITE A Production

Polly turned 45 years old. She enjoys spending family time with her 16 year-old daughter and beloved husband at the community garden.

The Design 87


Pippa starts to volunteer at the innovation centre, especially outdoor vertical farm. 88 The Design

SITE B Innovation


SITE C Sharing

Pippa leanrs how to cook from Polly at the community kitchen and shares their ideas with the neighbours.

The Design 89


Plant Selection

This list of plant selection is suggested to reflect varied scale of Site A, B, C. January

July

April Summer

Autumn

October Winter

December Spring

SITE A

SITE B

SITE C

90 The Design

Source: Cooking Light (2009), First Nature (2015), Gardenate (2017), Gourmet Garden (2014), Whole Foods Market (2011)


SITE A

SITE B

SITE C

Botanical Name

Common Name

Family

Size

Solanum lycopersicum

Cherry Tomato

Solanaceae

height ~1 - 3m

Solanum melongena

Eggplant

Solanaceae

height ~ 40 to 150 cm

Agaricus bisporus

Button Mushroom

Agaricaceae

cap diameter ~ 5 - 10 cm

Lactuca sativa

Lettuce

Asteraceae

overall ~ 0.9 m by 0.3 m

Ocimum basilicum

Basil

Lamiaceae

height ~30 - 60 cm

Allium schoenoprasum

Chives

Amaryllidaceae

height ~ 30–50 cm The Design 91


Evaluation Due to time and resource limitation, there are constraints to this thesis. The speculation is demonstrated through 3 models which generally represent the ideas of the project. However, the possibility of such speculation does not limit to these 3 models. The circle of life driven by the circle of food can be potentially taken to another level by detailing the programs to influence emotions, beyond psychological well-being. This speculation may not solve the issue of food production, waste and education in global scale since the implementation is limited to local scale at the moment. Nonetheless, it will raise the discussion among community in relation to agriculture and healthy diet, especially children.

92 The Design


The Design 93


4. References


Academic Resources Allen, S. (1999), Points + Lines: Diagrams and Projects for the City, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, U.S.A Bakker, I. et. al (2014), Pleasure, Arousal, Dominance: Mehrabian and Russell revisited, Springer Science+Business Media, New York, U.S.A Cohen, S. (2004), Social Relationships and Health, American Psychologist, November 2004, Carnegie Mellon University, U.S.A Fox, T. (2011), Urban Farming: Sustainable City Living in Your Backyard, in Your Community, and in the World. Lumina Media, New York, U.S.A Pfister, T., Schweighofer, M., Reichel, A. (2016), Sustainability, Routledge, New York, U.S.A Russell, J. et. al (1981), Affective Quality Attributed to Environments: A Factor Analytic Study, Environment and Behavior, 13-3, 259-289 World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), Brundtland Report, United Nations, Oxford University Press, U.K Other Resources AeroFarms (2017), Our Farms, AeroFarms, New Jersey, U.S.A, < http://aerofarms.com/farms/> viewed on 7th Feburary 2017 Alberts, H. (2012), Rooftop Farming in Hong Kong, BBC Travel 27 August 2012, BBC, U.K. < http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20120824-rooftop-farming-in-hongkong>, viewed on 8th Feburary 2017 Bailkey, M., and J. Nasr. (2000), “From Brownfields to Greenfields: Producing Food in North American Cities,� Community Food Security News. Fall 1999/Winter 2000:6 BeyondBlue (2010), Healthy eating for people with depression, anxiety and related disorders, BeyondBlue, the National Depression Initiative, Victoria, Australia, viewed on 23 May 2017, https://www.bspg.com.au/dam/bsg/product?client=BEYONDBLUE&type=file&prodid=BL/0353 CERES (2016), Welcome to CERES, Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies, Melbourne, Australia, < http://ceres.org.au/about/> viewed on 7th Feburary 2017 Cooking Light (2009), Guide to Eggplant, Cooking Light, viewed on 27th May 2017, < http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking-101/essential-ingredients/choiceingredient-eggplant> References 95


Do Something (2017), Fast Facts on Food Waste, FOODWISE, < http://www.foodwise.com.au/foodwaste/food-waste-fast-facts/>, viewed on 6th Feburary 2017 Designboom (2010), my space by liya mairson, aug 06 2010, viewed on 13th March 2017, < http://www.designboom.com/design/my-space-by-liya-mairson/> Designboom (2011), josefine bentzen + charlotte skak: kitchen kids, jul 03 2011, viewed on 13th March 2017, < http://www.designboom.com/design/josefinebentzen-charlotte-skak-kitchen-kids/> Designboom (2015), adam wiercinski uses container frames and grid to build modular kids city, feb 24 2015, viewed on 13th March 2017, < http://www. designboom.com/architecture/kids-city-adam-wiercinski-02-24-2015/> First Nature (2015), Agaricus bisporus, First Nature, the U.K., viewed on 27th May 2017, < http://www.first-nature.com/fungi/agaricus-bisporus.php> Foodbank Australia (2015), The Facts, Foodbank, < https://www.foodbank.org.au/hunger-in-australia/the-facts/>, viewed on 23rd Feburary 2017 Gardenate (2017), Growing Lettuce, Gardenate, viewed on 27th May 2017, < http://www.gardenate.com/plant/Lettuce?zone=2> Gardenate (2017), Growing Basil, Gardenate, viewed on 27th May 2017, < http://www.gardenate.com/plant/Basil?zone=2 Garfield, L. (2016), Inside the world’s largest vertical farm, where plants stack 30 feet high, Business Insider, < http://www.businessinsider.com/insideaerofarms-the-worlds-largest-vertical-farm-2016-3/?r=AU&IR=T>, viewed on 8th Feburary 2017 Gamble, L.(2014), Kids still don’t know where their food come from, The Sydney Morning Herald, Lifestyle, May 27 2014, < http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/ kids-still-dont-know-where-their-food-comes-from-20140526-zrmk1.html>, viewed on 3 Mar 2017 Gourmet Garden (2014), Chives (Allium schoenoprasum), Gourmet Garden, viewed on 27th May 2017, < http://www.gourmetgarden.com/en/herb/255/chives> HK Farm (2015), Local Food, HK Farm, Hong Kong, < http://www.hkfarm.org/local_food.html>, viewed on 7th Feburary 2017 Hoppe, J. (2016), Sky’s the Limit, Food & Drink. Winter2016, Vol. 1, p8-19. 12p. Koelma, G. (2014), New research reveals many Australian children don’t know where fruit and vegetables come from, News.com.au, May 22 2014, < http://www. news.com.au/lifestyle/food/new-research-reveals-many-australian-children-dont-know-where-fruit-and-vegetables-come-from/news-story/548398e1e6b70c 4b9c90594fc1d7dc83>, viewed on 3 Mar 2017 96 References


Pocket City Farms (2015), Urban Farmers, Pocket City Farms, Sydney, Australia, < http://www.pocketcityfarms.com.au/about/>, viewed on 8th Feburary 2017 Spatial Datamart Victoria (2016), Spatial Datamart, State Government of Victoria, Environment , Land, Water and Planning, < http://services.land.vic.gov.au/ SpatialDatamart/ >, viewed on 8th Feburary 2017 Whole Foods Market (2011), Cherry Tomatoes Start the Season, Whole Foods Market, viewed on 27th May 2017, < http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/ whole-story/cherry-tomatoes-start-season> *All infographics are edited from original files from flaticon.com

References 97



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