Inquisitions of Culture, Craft and Materiality

The home food production garden was once the backbone of American food security. However, a cultural shift away from gardening has resulted in residential properties abdicating secure garden space. Lack of food security affects the availability, quality, and affordability of fresh local produce. First Lady Michelle Obama has made food security one of her top priorities; demonstrating her commitment by devoting some of the White House grounds to food production. Others have also trumpeted food security as being vital to the health and welfare of the people within the United States, in particular those of low-income or located within urban food deserts. To this end, a multi-disciplinary team of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Water Resources, and Food Science experts and educators was assembled to engage issues of food security through the development of the Garden Education Teaching and Training Site (GETTS). This project will act as a replicable model for home food production and is funded by a $50,000 seed grant to be utilized over 2 years. One of the objectives of GETTS is to develop proposals for three scales of the family vegetable garden, of which the primary focus of this paper/presentation is the small vertical garden. A design/build methodology and pedagogy was utilized in an Architecture Materials course where students were afforded the opportunity to collaboratively design and construct an innovative and affordable solution to vertical gardening. As students worked closely with Architecture and Landscape Architecture faculty they were tasked with developing appropriate and site sensitive designs, the selection and procurement of building materials, and the fabrication and construction (on-site) of their proposals. Documentation sets, in the form of brochures and user-friendly construction assembly instructions (Ikea style), were also created by the student groups for dissemination at University Extension Centers and to be made available online in digital format for broader exposure and use by the public. The project’s process from conception through design development, and material procurement to construction and install (before, during, after), was documented by a designated student team tasked with digitally recording, editing, and producing a documentary/promotional video of the work.Through this design/build experience students have become more aware of societal and cultural issues surrounding food security; developed tacit understandings of building materials, assemblies, and craft; were exposed to and developed a consciousness toward project budgets, timelines, and material acquisition; and an appreciation for the complexities of project management, coordination, and implementation.

Volume Editors
Sergio Palleroni, Ted Cavanagh & Ursula Hartig

ISBN
978-0-935502-94-7