Princeton students develop interdisciplinary project for Newark community garden
Princeton undergraduate Sophia Williams secures corrugated plastic to the roof of a mobile shed, with graduate student Remi Kahwaji’s assistance, as part of an interdisciplinary project for a community garden in Newark, New Jersey. Watching at left is graduate student Austen Kernodle. The students worked on the project at the School of Architecture's Embodied Computation Lab as part of the spring course “Topics in the Formal Analysis of the Urban Structure — Environmental Challenges of Urban Sprawl.”
On patch of dusty asphalt in Newark, New Jersey, sits a wooden shed topped with corrugated plastic, a safeguard from impending winter weather. But it won’t be there for long.
That’s because the shed is intended to roam around the civic project Down Bottom Farms, a half-acre plot bearing a fruit tree orchard, berry patches and even a small vineyard — part of Ironbound Community Corporation’s Urban Agriculture Program.
Built on wheels, the mobile storage system contains gardening tools and equipment easily accessible to the community gardeners who devotedly take care of the farm. The shed can also be split into two parts, providing even greater convenience.
The project was conceived by Princeton University students in conjunction with the spring course “Topics in the Formal Analysis of the Urban Structure — Environmental Challenges of Urban Sprawl” taught by Mario Gandelsonas, professor of architecture and the Class of 1913 Lecturer in Architecture. The project was funded by the Princeton Environmental Institute.
Kernodle, who is earning an advanced degree in architecture, led the shed’s fabrication at the Embodied Computation Lab.
Graduate students Remi Kahwaji, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Austen Kernodle, School of Architecture; and Christine Philippe-Blumauer, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, designed the shed, which Kernodle built with the help of undergraduate architecture student Sophia Williams at the School of Architecture’s Embodied Computation Lab.
Kernodle said, “Inspired by the creativity of Down Bottom Farms, our team designed a project that was intended to spark the imagination of the already clever farmers and volunteers. The roaming shed system is a catalyst for the further reimagination of urban agriculture and how the farm engages the community.”
The interdisciplinary course challenged students to address the entanglements between water, energy and urban sprawl from a perspective informed by architecture, urbanism and the humanities. Students aimed to identify sustainable solutions sensitive to issues like water resource management, energy efficiency, technology innovation, and human and environmental health. Down Bottom Farms served as their case study.
Gandelsonas explained: “Students were tasked to develop a project centered on issues of food and urban agriculture with a focus on ‘food deserts’ in Newark. This collaborative project involved different disciplinary approaches given that it was meant to intervene in the world through design, diagnosis and policy proposals.”
Split into two mobile parts, the shed — filled with a variety of tools and other farming equipment — provides convenience for community gardeners working in Down Bottom Farms.
For some students, Down Bottom Farms served as more than a case study. “When I first visited the farm, I was inspired by the children’s attitude,” said Kahwaji. “I was touched by their life experiences, which were often not easy. I felt like the farm was not just a place growing things, but a productive, healthy and safe environment where these young ones themselves were growing. The shed started just like any other conceptual academic project but ended up being an example of how Princeton students can channel academic excellence into impactful projects in their community.”
Philippe-Blumauer said of her experience: "Working on this project was one of the most rewarding experiences I had during my time as a Master in Public Affairs student at the Woodrow Wilson School. Being part of an interdisciplinary team, where I could apply my policy skills to the real world and see a project through from beginning to end was thrilling and definitely one of my grad school goals. It was an instance where Princeton students, from different disciplines and backgrounds came together and made the University’s [unofficial] motto — in the nation’s service and the service of humanity — come true.”
