The design of Massachusetts Avenue Project’s (MAP) farmhouse and community resource center has been left up to our imaginations up until this point (see history). Now, preliminary renderings (submitted to the Planning Board) have been provided to us that give a better idea as to what we might expect to see built on Massachusetts Avenue (between Brayton Street and Shields Avenue).
According to a letter furnished to the Planning Board by eco_logic Studio Architecture and Engineering, PLLC, the farmhouse will “incorporate non-profit offices, educational programming and training areas, a teaching kitchen, and cold storage for farm produce.”
“The only difference from these plans is that we are not going to have parking out front on Mass Avenue,” says Kevin Connors at eco_logic. “That area will become green infrastructure.”
The farmhouse and community center align with MAP’s vision to create an all-encompassing farm production center on the city’s West Side, where disadvantaged youth can learn life skills while being immersed in a healthy lifestyle (Growing Green Program).
The building will also be part of the “green” equation by incorporating super-insulation, air barrier membrane, thermal bridge-free construction, heat recovery ventilation and a renewable energy system.
The energy efficient building will not only be a place where young people can “get back to earth”, it will also a place that will inherently teach the benefits of rainwater harvesting, and other earth friendly practices.
The green compound will be surrounded by myriad MAP gardens and growing resources (currently underway), which will create a significant community destination.
The farmhouse will replace an existing structure at the site, as you can see below.
