Site: Poughkeepsie, New York, US
Tutor: Lee Altman, James Carse, Christopher Kroner, Justin Moore, David Smiley, Caitlin Taylor, Michael Murphy, Evelina Knodel
Group Design——Cooperator: Fatma Mhmood , Yeonkyu Park , Yicheng Xu
The Hudson Valley has long been known for its rich and diverse agricultural production, yet 79% of the crops produced in the region are shipped outside the valley. Despite the productivity of the farmlands, food insecurity persists in Poughkeepsie affecting 26% of households.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity as a "lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life." While food insecurity has multiple effects, including higher medical costs, higher mortality rates, lower birth rates, etc, we focus on the role of access as a central means to remedy the problem for Poughkeepsie residents.
Rich Agriculture Resource in Hudson Valley around Poughkeepsie City
The College Hill underground water reservoir, which exists since 1860s, will be deactivated in January 2018. The lack of storage availability due to the cost of running and maintaining it, and the absence of a facility where all gleaned crops can be stored and processed have limited the opportunity to bring fresh produce at affordable prices to the city of Poughkeepsie. Our project repurposes the underground reservoir to a storage and distribution center to bring fresh food to the residents. Gleaned crops from local farms in the Hudson Valley region will be stored and processed in the reservoir to provide a consist supply of fresh food throughout the year.
Deficiency of Existing Agents in Poughkeepsie City & Proposed Agents
From the reservoir, we propose a distribution system of mobile markets to provide better access across the day and in different neighborhoods. In addition to the routes of Poughkeepsie Plenty by Dutchess Outreach, our reservoir system includes two new routes dedicated for schools and neighbourhood parks to expand on the existing mobile market by Poughkeepsie Plenty and to expand on the regional distribution system that is now run by Dutchess Outreach.
Reservoir in College Hill Park
Resource & Storage + Processing & Distribution
By creating a food infrastructure that is an adaptive use of an existing water infrastructure, we believe that a larger amount of the fresh produce can be distributed for the residents at affordable prices when all gleaned crops are brought into the reservoir, which will also help the existing mobile market to expand and have more distribution points.
Destination From Walkway
Reservoir Adaptation and Reuse (Functions & Circulation)
The reservoir will also serve as a destination for the visitors to educate them about using and processing leftover crops, and it will serve as a recreation area to activate College Hill Park. A fresh market and a display of seed library underground in the existing reservoir is included as part of the facility to provide an experience to the visitors of the space that we adapted and reused to be a new type of infrastructure for the city of Poughkeepsie.
Seed Library Underground
Fresh Market in the Reservoir
Video of Project