Bumper Crop

Merit Award Winner
Bumper Crop, 2008
The Miller Hull Partnership
Seattle

Site: Scottsdale: 2200 N. Scottsdale Road (near Oak Street)
Design team: Evan Bourquard, Thomas Brown, Brian Court, Craig Curtis, Chi Duong, Jeff Floor, Kiki Gram, Todd Hutchison, Mike Jobes, John MacKay, Maaike Post, Yuki Seda-Kane (www.millerhull.com)
Estimated construction cost: $966,000
Features: elevated aeroponic farming, shade, alternative power, water reclamation

This project zeroes in on the most derided, ecologically onerous aspect of the strip mall—the parking lot—and turns it into a funky urban farm. Bumper Crop is just that: an elevated grid of crop trays that floats over the entire parking pad. It reverses the usual state of the parking-lot-as-asphalt-heat-island. The shade it provides also reduces the energy consumption of the strip mall's buildings.

Bumper Crop is "found ground." Entrepreneurial farmers can lease sections to grow cash crops ranging from vegetables to textiles to bio-fuel plants. The farm thus provides additional revenue for the strip mall owner; its plants offset carbon emissions; it reduces the "carbon footprint" of food for the community; and it offers an unexpected, delightful aerial green space. The Miller Hull Partnership intends to leave the existing buildings and tenants of the strip mall in place, yet open up the "no-man's land" of the back alleyway into a lively point of pedestrian access. It foresees two-story residences along the alley, with a bird's-eye view of the green crop canopy.

Whereas most farming is soil-based, Bumper Crop posits a more ecologically friendly "aeroponic parasol" that uses only a fraction of the water and is suitable for many climates (even Arizona's). In aeroponic farming, the plants' roots are enclosed in a chamber that is fed a fine mist of water and nutrients. The necessary water would be harvested from rain and rooftop runoff and mined from sewers via a bio-reactor (a process used in drought-ridden Australia). The entire system is powered by solar pumps and windmills: it is constructed using recycled materials and recycled telephone poles. Miller Hull created a scaled-down mockup of a section of the canopy especially for this exhibition.

Bumper Crop was inspired by the trellis systems used to grow hops, a staple ingredient of beer (and of Seattle's micro-brew culture since the late 19th century). Here, each tray can be raised and lowered by simple, manual block-and-tackles (like a sail), in order to tend the crops or to stock an instant on-site farmer's market.

Made possible with generous in-kind support from Build Inc., Phoenix; Weyerhaeuser Company, Federal Way, Washington; and ZAP [Zero Air Pollution] Electric Cars, Electric Car Outlet, Scottsdale.


Bumper Crop Merit Award Winner Bumper Crop, 2008 The Miller Hull Partnership Seattle Site: Scottsdale: 2200 N. Scottsdale Road (near Oak Street) Design team: Evan Bourquard, Thomas Brown, Brian Court, Craig Curtis, Chi Duong, Jeff Floor, Kiki Gram, Todd Hutchison, Mike Jobes, John MacKay, Maaike Post, Yuki Seda-Kane (www.millerhull.com) Estimated construction cost: $966,000 Features: elevated aeroponic farming, shade, alternative power, water reclamation This project zeroes in on the most derided, ecologically onerous aspect of the strip mall—the parking lot—and turns it into a funky urban farm. Bumper Crop is just that: an elevated grid of crop trays that floats over the entire parking pad. It reverses the usual state of the parking-lot-as-asphalt-heat-island. The shade it provides also reduces the energy consumption of the strip mall's buildings. Bumper Crop is "found ground." Entrepreneurial farmers can lease sections to grow cash crops ranging from vegetables to textiles to bio-fuel plants. The farm thus provides additional revenue for the strip mall owner; its plants offset carbon emissions; it reduces the "carbon footprint" of food for the community; and it offers an unexpected, delightful aerial green space. The Miller Hull Partnership intends to leave the existing buildings and tenants of the strip mall in place, yet open up the "no-man's land" of the back alleyway into a lively point of pedestrian access. It foresees two-story residences along the alley, with a bird's-eye view of the green crop canopy. Whereas most farming is soil-based, Bumper Crop posits a more ecologically friendly "aeroponic parasol" that uses only a fraction of the water and is suitable for many climates (even Arizona's). In aeroponic farming, the plants' roots are enclosed in a chamber that is fed a fine mist of water and nutrients. The necessary water would be harvested from rain and rooftop runoff and mined from sewers via a bio-reactor (a process used in drought-ridden Australia). The entire system is powered by solar pumps and windmills: it is constructed using recycled materials and recycled telephone poles. Miller Hull created a scaled-down mockup of a section of the canopy especially for this exhibition. Bumper Crop was inspired by the trellis systems used to grow hops, a staple ingredient of beer (and of Seattle's micro-brew culture since the late 19th century). Here, each tray can be raised and lowered by simple, manual block-and-tackles (like a sail), in order to tend the crops or to stock an instant on-site farmer's market. Made possible with generous in-kind support from Build Inc., Phoenix; Weyerhaeuser Company, Federal Way, Washington; and ZAP [Zero Air Pollution] Electric Cars, Electric Car Outlet, Scottsdale.

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Competition Board A	Competition Board B	Project Description	Submitted Technical Specification Form
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