kristen mimms scavnicky

2021

Food is perhaps the most common way of creating and fostering communities. From holiday gatherings to neighborhood potlucks to casual pizza parties, eating together is a kind of transcendental cross-cultural act that brings people together. More importantly, good experiences of sharing meals is something so sought after in daily life that cities themselves are at times judged by their culinary offerings. We can therefore say with confidence that urbanism and food are inextricably linked.

This project, titled “Homegrown,” centers acts of cooking and eating as core components of community-building. It is geared towards multi-generational families as well as growing families. In addition to providing the essentials for comfortable living, our project prioritizes the spaces for cooking together, eating together, sharing knowledge about food, and providing access to food. This project elevates the role of the kitchen, indoor and outdoor dining, and the garden in daily life.

Organized as a residential duplex, “Homegrown” features a modular scheme adaptable for many different sites. The massing is simple and fits into the existing context of Hilltop. Within each unit, a modest kitchen becomes the primary gathering area in the house. The dining area extends out onto the porch for outdoor dining. The garden is envisioned as a productive garden. Setting aside the inefficient logic of the lawn, the garden has the potential to yield some food for the duplex’s residents. It is not supposed to be a complete farm, but instead a site for engaging with landscape in an intimate way. Residents can farm a few herbs and/or vegetables to compliment their meals and exchange them with neighbors. The goal is to produce things to eat, not necessarily to sell (though, of course, that will always be an option). “Homegrown” illustrates how residents can enliven a community through a simple act of sharing food.