02. Silo School

Fall 2021

Faculty: Brian Carter, Maia Peck

Location: 76 W. Huron St. Buffalo, NY

The Silo School is a “food” school which would compliment the Buffalo School of Culinary Arts, which is north of the site on the other side of W. Huron St. There are areas of Buffalo which are considered food deserts as they lack markets for fresh produce. The program tackles this issue, and provides an opportunity of both a market and a cafeteria where fresh produce is sold and meals are prepared for the public. As a food school, it provides an education in urban horticulture and agriculture alongside standard education.

The food school proposed pays homage to Buffalo’s iconic grain elevators in Elevator Alley. It is designed so that each “silo” becomes a space for teaching or offices, stairs or elevators. The basement below the outdoor garden includes a gym in which the ceiling has skylights through the ground. There is a rooftop greenhouse for additional gardening. The ground floor contains the kitchen, in which the space is open for the public to watch the students work, as the cafeteria also surrounds it.

Third floor

Ground floor