Monday and Thursday are studio days. On these days in particular, the third floor undergraduate studio is filled with a frenetic energy of design, research, and exploration. Students can usually be found talking excitedly with design professors and classmates in a habitat saturated with trace sketches, study models, and empty coffee cups. Every week we’ll share a completed project, churned out from this energetic studio environment.
3B DESIGN OPTION STUDIO 2013
Coordinated by Professor Andrew Levitt
HARVEST by Claire Kurtin
A celebration of urban farming and local food culture
This project proposes a radical redevelopment of the Toronto Island Airport into an urban agricultural hub. The aim of the project is to re-engage Torontonians with food production through education and personal involvement in the processes of growing, harvesting and preparing food.
The existing airport is converted into an urban farm, while the land to the south is rehabilitated into a natural wetland to purify the agricultural run-off and attract native species. The main runway is redeveloped into a central promenade, which becomes the main thoroughfare for both farm and visitor traffic ensuring constant interaction between pedestrians and agricultural activities. The existing beach on the western edge of the site is developed, adding a large swimming hole and sheltering it from westerly winds and currents, making it a more desirable destination on Toronto Island.
A boardwalk snakes around the edge of the site, taking visitors through a variety of different landscapes and experiences connecting back to the rest of Toronto Island. As the visitor moves farther from the city, agricultural production becomes less intensive, and wild types of food cultivation become dominant. Food production on the island is holistic – produce is not only grown and harvested, but also processed, stored, prepared, and served.
I am a graduate student at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, currently completing my MArch thesis on the design and collective memory of Indian residential schools in Canada.
