Thomas Yang
Self-Sustaining Urban Farm Sunset Park
Class of: 2023
Major: Product Design BFA
Medium: Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, Sculpture
Faculty: Aviva Maya Shulem
Prompt: Research including the following questions: What’s the problem you want to solve? Who are the users? What’s your design process? What are the design options and how decisions are made? What are the constraints and limitations? How to validate your design? What will be your next step? What is your intervention? Solution? 1. One paragraph – what is your design proposal – pitch 2. Materials investigation (for 3D design) and proposal of their use. 3. To include name, image, properties usage in your design, and why. 4. A complete and presentable prototype of your design solution: 3D (Exterior, Interior, Product, Garment, Accessory), 2D (Poster, brochure, booklet, etc.), Digital Product (App, Website, System, etc.) 5. Sketches of design development 6. Technical drawings: 7. 3D model 8. The orthographic projection for 3D model+ dimensions, 9. 2D – Hardcopy 10. Styling photos- with the end-user environment (can be done on Photoshop)
I focused on the evidence of commonality and cooperation involved in the community clean-ups, and the already existing community gardens, so the concept of a self-sustaining urban farm seemed appropriate to generate even greater levels of community interaction. The site-specific community garden would be one of three community gardens within Sunset Park.The garden is located between two three-story buildings, getting limited sunlight throughout the entire year due to the cast shadows cast by the buildings. The site was chosen in part because there are several schools in the vicinity. It is on the Northern end of Sunset Park, meaning when workers come home, they may stop by to get their food. It is only six streets from Sunset Park. The location is also far from the most frequently-occurring I.C.E. raids, unlike the second community garden on the southern part of Sunset Park, which has a higher incidence of such raids.
The urban farm is self-sustaining one, meaning that a portion of the farm will be self-watering through the grey-water collection, and thus have little need for regular maintenance, other than taking the food home for consumption.The main greenhouse will be located on an added rooftop using neighbouring buildings for support. A lower level will also be a secondary location for growing and be mainly for winter and colder seasons.
The secondary portion of the farm will be for educational purposes, and this will exist in two formats. The first is for home cooking; a significant issue with learning about new foods and produce is how to prepare it. The secondary portion of the education aspect is for the younger generation, oriented toward engaging youth so that the systems and knowledge learned can be adopted and expanded. The overall design is subject to change and should be flexible.
