In our proposal of the studio project, we planned to convert the existing St. Anthony’s Hospital into an urban farm. By doing that, people living in North Lawndale could not only grow their own vegetables or whatever they want to eliminate the food desert issue within the community but also get jobs to make a living. Besides, an urban farm could be an excellent third place for the community.
During our desk crits on Monday, one of our guest designers, Kat, suggested that we could look up for a Chicago based organization called Plant Chicago as a precedent of our urban farm idea.
Plant Chicago is a non-profit organization established in 2011, their main focus is to teach people how to live more sustainably so that to revitalize urban communities and “cultivate local circular economies” (repurpose of waste and reuse of material) as well.
Used to be a meat packing facility, the 93,500 square foot facility has been converted into a collaborative community of food producing and urban farming with closing waste, energy, and material loops.
Currently, the plant encompasses farming, baking and brewing and a bunch of small food businesses. And their programs like the aquaponic system and vertical farm could be great examples for us to study. It is really insightful.
To learn more about Plant Chicago, visit: plantchicago.org
Plant Chicago logo, attributed to plantchicago.org
Closed Loop Diagram of The Plant, attributed to Matt Bergstrom
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