Project Images
Bumper Crop
While strip malls provide convenience and a diverse mix of
small enterprises, their car-centered focus and expanses of
heat-trapping surface parking devalue the physical and experiential
qualities of the communities they serve.
Proposed here are two interventions that can transform strip
malls into desirable destinations by radically altering their
micro-climate and community orientation:
AEROPONIC PARASOL
An elevated aeroponic crop shades the ground-plane and provides opportunity for additional revenue generation by stacking cash crop farming above parking. By reclaiming water from the city sewer main by means of a packaged membrane bioreactor, an unlimited supply of nutrient-rich irrigation water supports the elevated garden: an oasis in the asphalt desert.
COMMUNITY NEXUS
By reorienting a portion of the mall spaces to the community, the typical back-of-house alley is reclaimed as a pleasurable destination and opens possibilities for several modes of approach. The reconfiguration of the parking lot and ground plane allow space for gathering and encourage pedestrian use of the site.
SAVE THE PLANET ONE STRIP MALL AT A TIME
Strip malls are everywhere. A universal shift in the way we treat this ubiquitous typology could result in massive change. A soil-less farm irrigated with reclaimed waste water and suspended above the strip mall parking lot shades the ground plane reversing the heat-island effect. Acres of land currently used for parking only are reclaimed for agricultural purposes thereby returning farmland to nature and repairing the ecosystems that have been sacrificed for soil-based agriculture. The introduction of a second tier of use doubles the income-generating potential of the land for the strip-mall developer by creating a farming apparatus leasable to a new generation of urban farmers that pays for itself in a few growing seasons.
Arrival by car is hard-wired into the layout of the strip mall. A myopic orientation to the main arterial eliminates the possibility of arrival by other alternative modes. By providing pedestrian access from multiple points around the perimeter, and encouraging community uses into the evening, the strip mall can become the heart of the neighborhood.
AEROPONIC PARASOL
An elevated aeroponic crop shades the ground-plane and provides opportunity for additional revenue generation by stacking cash crop farming above parking. By reclaiming water from the city sewer main by means of a packaged membrane bioreactor, an unlimited supply of nutrient-rich irrigation water supports the elevated garden: an oasis in the asphalt desert.
COMMUNITY NEXUS
By reorienting a portion of the mall spaces to the community, the typical back-of-house alley is reclaimed as a pleasurable destination and opens possibilities for several modes of approach. The reconfiguration of the parking lot and ground plane allow space for gathering and encourage pedestrian use of the site.
SAVE THE PLANET ONE STRIP MALL AT A TIME
Strip malls are everywhere. A universal shift in the way we treat this ubiquitous typology could result in massive change. A soil-less farm irrigated with reclaimed waste water and suspended above the strip mall parking lot shades the ground plane reversing the heat-island effect. Acres of land currently used for parking only are reclaimed for agricultural purposes thereby returning farmland to nature and repairing the ecosystems that have been sacrificed for soil-based agriculture. The introduction of a second tier of use doubles the income-generating potential of the land for the strip-mall developer by creating a farming apparatus leasable to a new generation of urban farmers that pays for itself in a few growing seasons.
Arrival by car is hard-wired into the layout of the strip mall. A myopic orientation to the main arterial eliminates the possibility of arrival by other alternative modes. By providing pedestrian access from multiple points around the perimeter, and encouraging community uses into the evening, the strip mall can become the heart of the neighborhood.
Location
Scottsdale, Arizona
Awards
2009 The American Architecture Awards, Chicago Athenaeum
2009 Reburbia Finalist
2008 Citation Award, AIA Seattle
2008 Merit Award, Flip A Strip Competition & Exhibition
2009 Reburbia Finalist
2008 Citation Award, AIA Seattle
2008 Merit Award, Flip A Strip Competition & Exhibition