The DistilleryLandscape Studio | Professor Jason Austin | 10 weeks
West Philadelphia’s newest urban farming institute seeks to reconcile the heretofore mutually exclusive conditions of urban and rural infrastructure. Drawing from concepts of filtration and permeability, The Distillery creates views and spatial conditions meant to pull visitors into and through the site by way of various permeable or semi-permeable boundaries. Changes in topography, transparency, and crop orientation create opportunities for interaction with agriculture, which in turn will foster cross-disciplinary collaboration across the diverse programmatic elements. In this way the design ‘distills’ the conditions of urban and rural settings down to their most desirable parts, fostering the urban farming revolution while respecting the historical, social, and natural aspects of the surrounding community. A visitor’s experience should be a pleasant juxtaposition of the simplicity and intimacy of an agricultural setting against the industry and innovation of our urban environment. |