Elizabeth Greene

green haus

ELIZABETH G. GREENE

DESIGN STATEMENT

greenhaus combines urban agriculture practices with a living, learning community structured through micro housing and a public farmer’s market.

INTRODUCTION As a designer, I am fascinated with architecture, how footprints of buildings manipulate the landscape or vice versa and in term the buildings to conform to topography. It is interesting and challenging to replicate architecture’s relationship with the land within the interior of a building. Everyone experiences the built environment; our spatial awareness is developed by our senses, which are influenced by the materiality, look, feel and smell of a building. Sensual experiences with materials allow users to transcend thresholds subconsciously and consciously. Thus, I want to explore the user’s experience of the outdoors brought inside through my urban farm, market and residential community.

RESEARCH

The lack of fresh food options in NoLita is the main influence for the integration of urban agriculture into this design. Urban agriculture within the interiors can take the form of bio walls, hydroponics or aeroponics, it brings the outdoors, in with the vegetation. This food producing vegetation gives opportunity to create community engagement through a farmer’s market and a co-housing residence.

The farmer’s market will provide fresh food to the neighborhood through it’s own production featuring food the production of local community gardens. The co-housing residence attracts individuals interested in urban farming – those who want to tend to the vegetables and receive a food subsidy.

There are a significant amount of construction occurring in NoLita, which led me to research what new spaces are entering the neighborhood to gain a better understanding of how the NoLita is changing and being gentrified. Majority of these projects in NoLita are luxurious residential buildings. These residences range anywhere from six million to thirty-five million; thus, these properties are most likely investment properties. The gentrification of NoLita’s real estate market runs the risk of creating a real estate bubble – one where the surrounding buildings’ rents increase due to these expensive investment properties. Therefore, it is imperative to introduce a new housing typology, such as micro housing, into this neighborhood in order to combat the growing number of investment properties, and to reduce the possible reverberating effects to the surrounding neighborhoods of the Lower East Side and Chinatown.

As a part of this new housing typology, I would like to integrate the different lifestyle of co-housing, which would contain a livinglearning community focused on the urban agriculture practices. The urban agriculture aspect is inspired by the lack of accessible fresh food in the area. However, the co-housing lifestyle attracts a niche audience interested in the urban farming process, something that is a rare find in a dense city like New York. Co-housing functions with the participation of the community and its neighbors; thus, this space would foster new interactions that many city residents are not accustomed to. Majority of people tend to retreat to their homes with minimal interaction with the neighbors. Through this living-learning community, with the extension of a farmer’s market as the public program within the space, the neighborhood would benefit from a greater understanding of urban agriculture and the significance of shortening the food supply chain.

NOLITA ANALYSIS NoLita’s real estate market is booming with luxurious residences ranging from $5 to $35 million apartments. The following example illustrates the type of finishes, square footage and amenities upper class residents have access to. It is imperative to introduce a new housing typology, such as micro-housing, to this neighborhood to prevent further gentrification into surrounding neighborhoods.

152 ELIZABETH ST TADAO ANDO 7 RESIDENTIAL UNITS PRICE PER SQ. FT: $3,396 PENTHOUSE · 5,600 sq. ft.

COST · $35 MILLION

DESIGN

SITE

LOCAL GARDENS

KEY: SITE

KEY:

NOLITA

COMMUNITY GARDENS

BODEGAS

NOLITA · SITE

SUPERMARKETS

GREEN SPACES

CUBE DIAGRAMS

CUBE MODELS

SUN DIAGRAM KEY: VERTICAL FARMING SUN PATH

PROGRAM AXON KEY: GREENHOUSE MICRO HOUSING COMMON AREAS FARMER’S MARKET

1’ - 0”

VERTICAL FARMING

5’ - 0”

AEROPONIC UNIT KEY: GLASS PVC WATER SOLUTION

MATERIALS CONCRETE

BLACK WALNUT

BIRCH

RIVER ROCK

CORTEN STEEL

IRON

4

5

3

1

GROUND FLOOR KEY:

2

1 ATRIUM

6

2 VENDOR 3 COMMUNAL KITCHEN 4 STADIUM SEATING 5 EDUCATIONAL SPACE 6 BACK OF HOUSE

0

5

10

20

50

2 6

5 3

THIRD FLOOR

4

KEY: 1 STUDIO

1

2 ONE BEDROOM 3 TWO BEDROOM 4 LOUNGE 5 RECREATIONAL AREA 6 OFFICE AREA

0

5

10

20

50

STUDIO 1 2

286 SQ. FT.

3

1 · 2 PERSON OCCUPANCY

4

ONE BEDROOM

3

520 SQ. FT. 1

2

1 · 2 PERSON OCCUPANCY 4

APARTMENT PLANS

TWO BEDROOM

KEY: 1 2

BEDROOM 1

KITCHEN

3

BATHROOM

4

DINING AREA

4 1

2 3

572 SQ. FT. 2 · 4 PERSON OCCUPANCY

1

3

SIXTH FLOOR KEY: 1 WORKTOP

2

2 COMPOST 3 BEEKEEPING

0

5

10

20

50

3

2

SECTION KEY: 1 FARMER’S MARKET 2 MICRO HOUSING 3 GREENHOUSE

1

ATRIUM Upon entering Greenhaus visitors are greeted by an atrium surrounded in greenery. This greenery ranges from being food-producing vegetation on the upper levels to sedum that requires less light on their lower levels. Entrances to the farmer’s market perforate the vegetation, along with the upper level circulation that is connected through a series of bridges.

FARMER’S MARKET Gardeners from neighboring community gardens are invited to sell their produce in these flexible vendor booths. The wooden crates can be aggregated for various formations based on the proportion of goods. In addition, the crates can be arranged into stadium seating for visitors to enjoy their purchases at the market.

MICRO HOUSING Within a few of the micro housing units, residents have direct access to the aeroponic units. Residents are able to harvest vegetables within their rooms; therefore, shortening the food supply system by creating a direct relationship between consumer and farmer.

GREENHOUSE The sixth floor includes a greenhouse with container farming for a greater variety of vegetables, such as bell peppers, beets, carrots, etc.

Within this organized stripe system are planters, benches, worktops, compost bins and apiaries. The greenhouse is tended to by the residents and can be utilized as a year round “outdoor� space.

ELIZABETH G. GREENE elizggreene@gmail.com www.elizabethggreene.com