The Living Terrace

The project is conceptualized as an urban agrarian housing that produces more than just crops – it is a foodscape that is simultaneously a gathering plaza, a city green space, a food literacy center, and a home to urban farm workers.

The farming component is situated near the ground level for public accessibility, connecting both the street as well as the adjacent Crispus Attucks Playground and ball courts, spatially and visually, to attract community interactions. The remaining ground level footprint beneath the terraced foodscape then allows interior occupation for crop storage, packaging and loading, as well as other public programs relating to agriculture. Residential units, considering their need for privacy and tranquility, are elevated above ground and placed to the northwest corner to hence not shade the farm.

It is aspired that the project can bring more value to the community besides mere edible goods – the greenery and the terrain allow for environmental improvements through purifying the air and mitigating the heat island effect, while the community garden format encourages societal participation and improves food literacy, all of which promotes ecological and social justices and can therefore benefit the entire neighborhood.

SITE - Tilted slightly from true north, the lot is surrounded by street (to the north), church (to the west), ballcourt + playground (to the east), and a vegetated rear plaza to the south; light comes primarily from the south.

ACCESS - Both the street and the ballcourt offers direct public access to the lot; the ballcourt is elevated 8ft above the ground.

GROUND PROGRAMS - Dedicated primarily to public and semi-public programs, the ground floor consists of (1) Crop packaging & loading, (2) Residence mailboxes and access, (3) Food literacy exhibition, (4) Crop Storage, (5) Kitchen, (6) Farm-to-table restaurant.

GROUND FORMATION - To shelter all of the programs, bridging the two accesses on site, as well as accepting maximal sunlight at the rear, a smooth shell with changing local heights is accordingly established.

FARMING TERRACE - The shell is rationalized as stepping terrace to allow for flat farming; higher steps are additionally elevated to create ceiling openings for diffused lighting.

CORES - To support the remaining residential units that will be elevated at the north end (prevent crop shading), structural and circulatory cores are accordingly inserted.

RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS - Each floor consists of (1) private unit x 8 and (2) shared kitchen; balconies are provided either along the street or facing the terrace.

RESIDENTIAL BLOCK - The same layout is stacked up to 4 floors to meet the 32-unit project design goal.

ROOF GREENHOUSES - The rooftop is further populated by greenhouses, primarily to cultivate seedlings until they are mature enough to be transplanted to the terrace.