Floating Greenhouse

Instructor: Josh Chan · Soulard, St. Louis, MO. Spring 2017

An examination of pedestrian traffic patterns in Soulard reveals disparity between the area and a neighboring district known as LaSalle Park, which was separated by the construction of Interstates 44 and 55. While Soulard continued to grow throughout the 20th century, La Salle was blighted and fell victim to misguided urban renewal efforts. Situated on the north end of a bridge spanning the highway, along Lafayette Avenue, the Urban Greenhouse functions as a productive diversion, disrupting current traffic patterns while also filtering out air pollutants. The open structure contains a large community garden, a café/event space, public bathrooms, and office space, improving air quality as well as views from surrounding homes. By attracting people to the north side of the interstate, the greenhouse transforms the highway into an instrument to unify, rather than divide, the historic neighborhood.

ECO-UNIT

The 3D-printed Eco-Unit consists of a system of telescoping tubes allow the structure to grow along side the plant, while an adjustable spiraling frame controls and manipulates the form that the plant takes. Grow lights are placed at the bottom of the frame in order to ensure that the lowest leaves are still getting light.

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