Public markets have been central to the history and development of cities. It has been argued that cities began as places where people gathered to meet and exchange goods, evolving into the regional centers that now contain more than half of the world’s population.Today, in response to increased levels of stress on our environment due to development and climate change; attention is being paid to the symbiotic relationship between cities and their geographic regions, including a renewed awareness of the long-term economic, social, and health benefits of locally grown produce and manufacture.

Public markets are places where people from diverse social and economic backgrounds come into contact over the shared need for healthy food. Marketplaces are often sited near a city’s pivotal intersections and major transportation hubs. Markets play a multifaceted role by extending essential services such as food banks, bathroom facilities, and community gathering spaces, thereby catering to the varied and intricate needs of individuals spanning diverse and often complex social and economic circumstances.

Market structures and buildings have evolved in response to social, economic, and technical conditions, from temporary roadside stands to large enclosures constructed with technically advanced materials and construction systems. In all cases, the basic conditions of the market have remained the same; an accessible, well-lit, ventilated, and protected space where people gather to exchange goods (mostly food). In contemporary architectural terms, the market hall typology is characterized by repetitive, frame structures that allow for open, flexible floor plans while maximizing the potential for natural lighting and ventilation. Frame structures were introduced preliminarily in ARC 401 and will be a major focus in this term along with the optimization of natural lighting and the design of a nonbearing enclosure system.

Studying a selection of contemporary urban market precedents from around the world, we will review the ways that these structures have responded to their physical and social environments. For the design portion of the course, each section will have a selection of three sites located in three cities in the United States; San Francisco, Phoenix, and New York.