Sow, Reap, Repeat (F) | Edible Homes

Sow, Reap, Repeat

Spatial Yield: Quantifying the Farm From the Start

This project began with a rigorous quantification of the farm site by mapping soil conditions, crop cycles, tool storage zones, circulation paths, and seasonal occupancy patterns. By treating the farm not just as a productive landscape but as a spatial system, the research revealed embedded logics of movement, labor, and informal dwelling. These metrics such as how long workers stay, where they gather, how tools migrate across zones, became the foundation for architectural inquiry. Quantification allowed us to see beyond abstraction and into lived rhythms, drawing connections between ecological flows and human presence.

Living Thresholds

This research began with a focused investigation into the spatial and infrastructural conditions surrounding temporary agricultural labor, examining how farming practices intersect with housing, mobility, and community formation. Through site visits, precedent analysis, and documentation of seasonal worker accommodations, the study revealed a persistent disconnect between the rhythms of agricultural labor and the rigidity of conventional residential design. The findings emphasized the need for adaptable, identity-responsive living systems—ones that can accommodate not only the temporality of farm work, but also the cultural, familial, and social preferences of diverse user groups.

Adress the Site

1024 Fulton Street,Brooklyn, NY

The site is envisioned as a place where architecture can reconnect the neighborhood, bridging the commercial corridor with surrounding residential blocks. Its redevelopment offers an opportunity to integrate affordable housing and community space, while rethinking building composition in relation to light, materials, and context. Positioned at the intersection of heritage and future growth, 1024 Fulton Street embodies the challenge of designing for both urban landscape and community life, making it a compelling site for exploration and innovation.

SOW, REAP, REPEAT

The Farming Tower and Residential project envisions a hybrid structure that responds to both the housing crisis and the need for sustainable urban agriculture. By integrating farmworking housing units with reduced rent options, the design provides temporary relief from skyrocketing rental prices while ensuring the maintenance and vitality of the tower. This connection between living and farming creates a model of affordability and resilience, offering residents a tangible link to community support. Beyond its growing purpose, the tower incorporates a teaching core, with classrooms on every floor designed to engage children and community members in the process of cultivation. Through this educational framework, the project fosters awareness of agriculture within the urban landscape, bridging everyday life with the cycles of growth. The Farming Tower becomes more than a building—it is a living system that connects housing, community, and learning in a cohesive architectural vision.

Process of Growth

Using sketching as a way to think, ideas can be explored through many iterations. Lines and forms become tools to test concepts, visualize possibilities, and refine design intentions. Sketches serve as a process of discovery, guiding design decisions and allowing abstract thoughts to evolve into meaningful, human-centered spaces.

How Growing Forms

Diagrams are used to clarify building composition, illustrating how spatial elements relate to one another and to the surrounding city. They reveal connections between architecture and the broader urban landscape, while also highlighting community aspects embedded within the design.

Floor Plans

Section and Elevation

Material

Exterior Finish Layer

Perforated Cork Panels: Act as a shading screen, reducing solar gain while allowing filtered light.
Provides texture and rhythm to the façade.

Secondary Cladding Layer

Full Cork Panels: Continuous surface for insulation, acoustic absorption, and a warm natural finish.
Adds thermal performance and tactile quality.

Insulation & Core

Hempcrete Infill Panels: Breathable, sustainable insulation with excellent thermal regulation.
Supports environmental performance and reduces embodied carbon.