Alec Crisp — The Future of Food

An overview of the campus on the banks of the River. An axial glasshouse acts as a public promenade, connecting the proposed main square with the waterfront and culminating in a working fishing pier.

The Future of Food — A new campus that brings together diverse food processes to feed our cities. By Alec Crisp

Location

Lyle Park, The Royal Docks, London Borough of Newham

Objective

To combine many agricultural, culinary and dining activities in one campus. To deal with food at all stages, from production to consumption (and waste), and immerse visitors in a world of sustainable food.

Motivation

The planet is being destroyed by our food system in many ways: top-soil depletion, greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater consumption and contamination, deforestation and biodiversity loss.

Strategy

Six buildings and a number of glasshouses support a variety of food processes and functions, enabling the growing of a variety of foods, and taking these ingredients from source, through processing and cooking, to consumption. Ingredients are produced in glasshouses and laboratories (R&D of alternative proteins), stored and processed in a ‘pantry’ (distribution centre), before being cooked in kitchens (culinary school) or consumed in a market or parade. A ‘digester’ processes all waste onsite and converts it to energy to power the campus.

Impact

1. A new generation of urban farmers, chefs, and conscientious eaters.

2. A vibrant neighbourhood, offering residents plentiful food.

3. A city equipped with a centre of knowledge for a more self-sufficient future.

Cities have gone from being self-sufficient within their rural hinterlands to being dependent on an unsustainable global food network that pillages resources, degrades the planet and disconnects us from our food.

The proposal: A Microcosm of food activity from production through consumption.

Inside The Market: Immersing visitors in sustainable and joyful production and consumption.

The main culinary school building is characterised by winter gardens on its south elevations, accessed directly off teaching kitchens for fresh ingredients.

Focusing on the production of ‘clean meat’, and the rearing of insects for human consumption, The Labs building supports research, development & production of alternative proteins.

An internal atrium between laboratory wings provides breakout space and offers opportunities for exchanges between researchers. Large glazed elements provide light into labs as well as views of ongoing research.

An excerpt from a technical submission – an Invitation to Tender for a facade package. [full document can be found at the bottom of this page.]

Proposed Roof Level Site Plan.

Proposed Ground Floor Site Plan.

Further work 

• Design Think Tank – Emerging Tools: Homesteading The City
• Design Tectonic – Invitation to Tender (The Future Food Campus)

Contact details

• www.aleccrisp.com
• alec.crisp@gmail.com
• LinkedIn