We are a group of University of Washington students studying architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning who are interested in the connection between Seattle’s vibrant urban food movement and the design professions.  We’ve been inspired by the Mayor’s recent “Year of Urban Agriculture” declaration, by the City Council’s Local Food Action Initiative resolution and, moreover, by the tremendous  on-going grassroots activism and community-based work happening across our city.    In sum, we are eager to join you in co-creating a just and resilient urban food system.

And… we are delighted to invite you to participate in a two-part event to explore the role of the design professions in our city’s urban food movement –  an evening panel discussion + reception followed by an all-day design charrette (like a big brainstorm!) the next day — hosted by the UW College of Built Environments (www.caup.washington.edu/Events/eventdetail.php?eventid=517).

Here’s the itinerary: 

Panel Discussion and Charrette Launch/Reception
Thursday, April 15
6:00pm – 7:45pm  Architecture Hall, Rm 147
8:00pm -9:00pm  Gould Hall, Center Court

Campus Map:  www.washington.edu/home/maps/southwest.html
Questions?   uwurbanfood@gmail.com

The evening panel will begin with a studio presentation and discussion on the role of design in the urban food movement.  Introducing the panel presentation will be faculty members Branden Born, Ken Yocom, and Gundula Proksch to discuss their leadership of the winter studio on vertical farms for Yesler Terrace in Seattle, Washington. The panel will bring together a dynamic group of designers, activists, and thinkers. Jason King, ASLA CLARB LEED AP is the Principal of TERRA.fluxus LLC and blogger from Portland, Oregon.  Debra Guenther ASLA LEED AP is a Principal at Mithun, Keith McPeeters is a Principal at Gustafson, Guthrie, Nichol, and Jeff Hou is the Chair of landscape architecture at the University of Washington, College of Built Environments. A reception and launch for the charette will take place in Gould Court immediately following the panel discussion.

Designing for Urban Food Charrette    (NO DESIGN EXPERIENCE NECESSARY!)
Thursday, April 15 – Friday, April 16
8:00 pm Launch (Thursday)
10:00am – 5:30pm Drop-in anytime! (Friday)
5:30pm – 7:00pm Celebration and Close (Friday)
Gould Hall, Center Court

Campus Map:  www.washington.edu/home/maps/southwest.html
Event Website:   http://cbeurbanfood.wordpress.com/  (you’re here!)
Questions?  uwurbanfood@gmail.com

Who should come?  YOU!  Anyone with an interest in urban food systems… in other words, anyone who eats!  …teachers, students, gardeners, neighborhood leaders, social justice activists, environmentalists, chefs, health care professionals, designers, parents, grandparents, children, visionaries, dreamers, doers, questioners, collaborators…. YOU.   

Can I come to the charrette at any time during the day?   YES.  There will be docents to help you get oriented.

How long should I plan on staying at the charrette?   Plan on at least a half hour.

Will there be FOOD?   Yes, light snacks and coffee/tea will be provided throughout the day.

The charrette is organized around ten different stations, each presenting a unique set of constraints/opportunities  and challenging us to visualize new approaches to “designing for urban food”.    Ranging from the scale of residential alleys, boulevard medians and single-family homes to larger-scale redevelopment projects and city-planning & policy questions, the charrette scenarios will invite you express your bold vision for the future of our urban food system.  Design ideas will be digitized and indexed following the charrette and will be made available to the public via http://cbeurbanfood.wordpress.com/ (this blog).   Further distillation and sharing mechanisms will be identified to continue the conversation.   Our aspiration is that the work generated at the charrette will be supportive of and useful to a variety of neighborhood-based and city-wide efforts such as, “Spring Into Bed”, which aims to establish 100 edible landscapes (including 10 food justice) gardens in one single day, later this spring!  See:  www.springintobed.org

We’re very much looking forward to meeting, talking, and desigining for urban food with you!

Sincerely,
“Designing for Food” Planning Team