Eight designers worked together to deliver a proposal to foodscape a new residential development in Park Street, Abbotsford, Melbourne.
The proposed development is a multi-residential project comprising nine, three bedroom terrace houses with large rooftop gardens.
The development is situated in a leafy industrial precinct close to cafes, waterways and bicycle paths. It is less than 5 minute cycle to Smith Street and in proximity to public transport.
To think beyond the current realisation of many built projects, designers utilised a food systems model to integrate food into the built environment.
In groups of two, the designers focused on either food production, logistics and distribution, access and consumption, or waste. The outcome could be a product and/or service, but needed to culminate in a tangible and holistic outcome to be experienced by the occupants of Park Street. They were also encouraged to consider the building as part of a living ecosystem that incorporated new and existing buildings and residents in the area.
The outcome is Seed to Soil, a product-service system connecting residents, business owners and the local community through locally grown food, community market and shared composting system within a 400m radius of Park St.
The system is based on the common coffee cup. Capitalising on Melbourne’s obsession with coffee, seeds to sow would be distributed through a satchel on the underside of a standard paper cup, purchased from Three Bags Full, a café within 100 meters of Park St.
Seeds are initially planted and raised in the cup. These could then be propagated and or used to produce fresh produce using the integrated rooftop garden container system.
Organic waste from Park St residents would be collected using the same garden container for propagating and growing the seeds. Stored waste is then moved to rooftop composting receptacles located alongside gardening beds and planter boxes.
This is complimented by an onsite communal “drop-off” receptacle, allowing both Park St residents and members of the community (such as coffee grounds from cafes) to bring their organic waste to be composted and returned back as nutrient-rich material for gardening and urban food production.
Distribution and Logistics
Planter boxes with coffee cup seedlings and or compost can be detached and loaded onto bike cargo trailers for easy distribution to a proposed local market – Mollison St Market
What better way to bring a community together than to create a thriving space for home grown produce to be enjoyed and shared. The Mollison St Market is a place where residents, local traders, and urban farmers can meet once a month to swap/sell their goods.
Mollison St was chosen for its centrality and accessibility. Access points were identified in consideration of neighbouring elements such as existing/new apartment complexes and businesses.
Further analysis was carried out to identify zones, which would define and locate spaces that shape the function of the market. Zones include, locations for market stalls, multi-purpose benches, trollies, bicycles, waste collection and compost distribution, café, stalls, and relaxation.
