Infill Project - The Plot

This design unifies of the community by bring the neighbourhoods of Kitchener together through a public indoor/outdoor garden. This space brings the community together through its use of organic design elements that represent life and growth, which are represented through an organically shaped wood structure that dips and curves throughout the space and acts as a branch running from the outside to the inside, connecting the spaces. While the outdoor space revitalizes the plot adjacent to the building the indoor space acts as the centre of the design, with a side entrance through the garden opening up into an open indoor space meant to be used in different ways to support local trades. The café and retail area utilize the produce and food harvested from the garden to produce goods to give back to the community. This space features a blue ceiling representing a sky while other elements relate to organic forms found in nature, including the honey comb lighting grate, the wood structure and floor that are made from local wood and limestone. The most important element of this design is the workshop, supported on the wood structure sitting above the cafe and retail space. The workshop acts as an indoor greenhouse, and space to used to teach the community about the benefits of indoor/outdoor gardening. This space is the root system connecting the community and the earth and each other.