The Big Ditch: Urban Farmland


Student project for the Salford Docks site in Manchester, U.K.
We first "met" Lorenza Casini, a student in the Materiality College at Manchester School of Architecture, when she contacted us last year regarding our post on MPreis supermarkets in the course of her research for this project. We are very pleased now to share the finished product now with you.

With an abandoned brownfield site chosen by the instructors, the studio presented an urban design and architectural design challenge: to propose a program for the site and to develop the architectural scheme.

Lorenza's proposal merges architecture, landscape, infrastructure, and food supply chains to develop an urban farmland and public space in the heart of Manchester.

"My 5th year project looks at the architectural typology of food retailing in the UK and its global trading scheme. Supermarket chains implement a global sourcing system to cut supply chain costs and to service multiple countries. This is not an efficient and environmental system that can be prolonged for the future.

"My brief explores a model which could be deployed to distribute locally produced food by alternate forms of transport and revisits the proportion of the built element on the former Salford Docks site. The structure accommodating the services for retailing is re-sized and the remaining site becomes an urban farmland to generate more fresh products. Materials form their relation to this new program strongly transform the surrounding barren environment, to allow a diverse range of new activities to take place on this former ship canal site."



SITE & CONTEXT - SALFORD CANAL DOCKS, MANCHESTER, U.K.




SITE PHOTOS: EXISTING CONDITIONS




SITE PLAN



1) CAR PARK, ARRIVAL POINT - 2) FOOD STORE & DEPOT AXIAL STRUCTURE - 3) LOADING & UNLOADING OF LORRIES - 4) LOADING & UNLOADING OF 'FOOD BARGE' - 5) 'PICK & CHOOSE VEGETABLES - ACCESSED BY PUBLIC - 6) ORCHARD - 7) ALLOTMENTS, USED TO PROMOTE AND DIVULGE A MORE HEALTHY AND SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLE - 8) URBAN FARMLAND IN WHICH POLYTUNNELS ARE USED BY STAFF TO PRODUCE (AND SELL) FRESH GREEN PRODUCTS ON SITE - 9) YARD AREA AND RECYCLING/COMPOSTING FACILITIES - 10) PUBLIC PROMMENADE, PROVIDING A PEDESTRIAN LINK TO OTHER CULTURAL VENUES AND DOCK SITES - 11) WOODLAND AREA ACTING AS A THRESHOLD BETWEEN PROMENADE AND URBAN FARMLAND - 12) PONTOON - ACCOMODATING SMALL BUILDINGS FOR DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES (I.E. RESTAURANTS/CAFES, CLASSROOMS FOR EXTRACURRICULAR SCHOOL ACTIVITIES, SPORTS CLUBS) ALL OF WHICH WOULD INCORPORATE SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS


CONCEPT OVERVIEW




LONGITUDINAL ELEVATION




VIEW OF PROMENADE




REFLECTIVE QUALITY OF GLASS




VIEW OF COMMUNITY ALLOTMENTS




STRUCTURE AND ELEMENTAL CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDING




DETAILS





Comments Add Comments

thanks!
Posted by Katharine Logan on 9/13/2005 12:07:00 PM

inspiring! thanks to the author for sharing her vision for more sustainable -- and delightful -- food supply system.

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M praise for you
Posted by Michael Mcdermot on 10/12/2005 4:45:00 PM

A great way of re-looking at an everyday activity that is often overlooked. Very exciting.

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Complimenti
Posted by Pietro Re on 11/8/2005 3:05:00 PM

Tuo padre mi ha detto del progetto, l'ho subito trovato in rete e mi è anche piaciuto particolarmente. Ne approfitto, così, per salutarti(anche tua madre)dato che dopo che mi hanno fottuto il portatile ho definitivamente perso la tua email.Quando capiti a Ronciglione non dimenticare di venirmi a fare un saluto. Ciao, Pietro. pietro_re@libero.it

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