ASCENDANT by Jake

Inspired by the desire for this community center to be a beacon for the community and a place to celebrate agriculture, the whole building becomes an elevated planting surface and a display of the practices of urban farming.

Inspired by the desire for this community center to be a beacon for the community and a place to celebrate agriculture, the whole building becomes an elevated planting surface and a display of the practices of urban farming. While the facade allows for the planting of luffa, tomatoes, peppers, vines, flowers and more, tearraced green roofs allow space for an abundance of activities and community gatherings. In the colder months, the withering planting allows for increased solar penetration through the building and therefore the heating of a wide communal hallway space that acts as a buffer zone between the outside and enclosed spaces. Operable windows inside the classrooms and folding doors along the southern facade provide passive ventilation, cooling and heating as needed. Semi-transparent PV solar windows along the southern facade help reduce energy costs as well, making this building “green” in more ways than one.