The winners of this year’s AIA COTE Top Ten for Students Competition have been announced, and among them is Catholic University’s very own Cole Hollier. Under the advisory of professors Lavinia Fici Pasquina and Ezio Mattiace, Cole’s project ‘Harvest Hub’ was designed as a transformative space that integrates urban agriculture with market functions, becoming the District’s example of how architecture can contribute to a more sustainable food industry for the future. Cole was among 1400 participants this year, making it increasingly competitive, therefore an incredible achievement.
“The AIA COTE Top Ten for Students Competition recognizes 10 outstanding projects that meaningfully address the impacts of climate change. These creative designs imagine a healthy, sustainable, and equitable future. The winning projects emphasize achieving net-zero emissions, adapting to resilient climate impacts, and addressing social and environmental inequities.
The program challenged students to design projects that use a creative and innovative, thoroughly integrated approach to architecture, natural systems, and technology to provide design solutions that protect and enhance the environment.”
Harvest Hub
Project Description:
Harvest Hub is located in Washington D.C (Climate Zone 4), a city plagued with food insecurity. Acknowledging the unsustainable nature of the current food supply chain, where the average American’s produce travels 1,500 miles, resulting in excessive energy consumption and carbon emissions, the project adopts an innovative approach. By growing produce on site and partnering with local farmers, the distance traveled by the food will be significantly less. This not only greatly reduces energy consumption, and emissions associated with transportation, but also fosters a deeper connection between consumers and their food sources.
The project comprises two markets (9,125 gross square footage) with south facing greenhouses to grow crops. These markets are elevated above the predicted water level increase, for resilience against future water level rise. The North Market emerges as a hub for raw produce sales, ensuring accessibility for locals and farmers. Within the South Market, the sale of on-site and locally sourced produce converges with spaces dedicated to local businesses, showcasing products crafted from fresh ingredients.
Harvest Hub is meticulously designed to minimize heating and cooling demands throughout the year, ensuring optimal comfort and efficiency. Calculated overhangs strategically shade the summer sun, while welcoming the winter sun deep into the market space, harnessing solar heat gains in the colder months and rejecting excessive heat in the summer. Additionally, the south-facing greenhouse serves as a sunspace, amplifying solar heat. During hot summer days, operable windows positioned high in the greenhouse facilitate ventilation, expelling excess heat. Conversely, in winter, the heat accumulated in the greenhouse is retained and utilized to reduce heating requirements for the building. A high heat lag thermal mass CMU wall separates the greenhouse and market, enabling the absorption and gradual release of solar heat into the space.
With extensive plant growth and cultivation within the building, substantial water demands are anticipated. To address this, the roofs are sloped to collect rainwater efficiently. This harvested rainwater is channeled through a gutter system, culminating in a rain chain that allows occupants to visually connect with the water required for their food. From there, the water is directed into cisterns for storage before being utilized for irrigation purposes in the greenhouses and gardens. The estimated yearly rainwater collection is projected to supply all on-site plants with the necessary water with excess.
Harvest Hub’s innovative design reveals the true resources and processes of food production while elegantly integrating urban agriculture with market functions. It sets a new standard for sustainable architecture, demonstrating the transformative power of design in shaping a new relationship with food for a more sustainable future.
Read more about the competition here: https://www.acsa-arch.org/2024-cote-top-ten-for-students-winners-announced/