The project for the term is an Urban Farming Community located on a former agricultural site in the Phoenix metropolitan area along a future light rail line. The community consists of small living units grouped around a network of common spaces, gardens and gardens, and plantings.

 

The architecture of the community is informed by a mat building typology. With its origins in the early cities of West Asia and the American Southwest, it is characterized by closely packed, repetitive dwelling units organized by a network of circulation and common spaces. Mat buildings favor spaces over objects, bringing people into close proximity to form a collectively organized and sustainable living environment and are well suited to contemporary urban environments.

 

The design process explores formal and programmatic relationships between the individual units and shared common spaces. It begins with two-dimensional figure ground studies of the living unit and evolves into three-dimensional studies of building form, light, and construction. Studies occur at a variety of scales that relate the unit to localized groupings and the site context.