My Design Concept

Community Gardens: There are many benefits that come about from community gardens, including;

• Health
• Social & Community
• Environmental 
• Learning & Resources

From a qualitative research assignment myself and a group completed last semester we found through research and interviewing members of the Community Garden in West End, that the benefits were extensive and extended beyond the community garden setting.  The members spoke about how people who were just passing by would stop in for a chat, local residents would drop of unused materials for recycling and re-use and parents would bring their children to learn that tomato's don't just come from the supermarket.  The community garden broke down the boundary of age, race, language and culture, as it is an inclusive activity that works due to the diverse group of people, where the retired people often would share their knowledge with the younger generations.  

The Parliamentary Agent : Bottom up Approach

In relating the principles of a community garden to a parliamentary agent, it would be a bottom up approach to influence and inspire the local community to improve health, social & community aspects, share resources and information and positively impact the environment, through the production of local food and recycling/ reuse of materials. 

The intention would be that the local community would shift their way in thinking and behaviours, which, inturn would influence policies made within the government. 

How it will Work

• The architectural agent will be a lecture theatre with a connected vertical community garden. 
• It will be a modular system made up by the structural framework of the honeycombe.
• It will be able to be dismantled, transported by rail and reassembed in a new location.
• The structure of the honeycome will establish a unique irrigation system. 

• The architectural agent will remain in one location for the required time, allowing the community to gather, to share information and for polititions to connect with the people.
• The Vertical Community garden will be an exemplar that will expose sustainable practices and concepts to the lcoal community.

• Once the lecture theatre is not needed anymore in that location the lecture theatre can be dismantled and reassembled in the next location.
• The established honeycome garden will remain, where locals can harvest the food, sell at Farmers Markets, a temporal event, and the profits can go to charity, or towards future sustainable projects.
• When or if the honeycombe garden is not required anymore, each single honeycombe unit would be able to be dismantled and the small gardens could be dispersed, for example, to local residents back yards.