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May 25, 2020The Future of Food
May 25, 2020
From Table to Gable
A startup restaurant
becomes a staple in residences
Culina Gastro-Lab was the first prototype,
serving as a blueprint for other communities to follow.
Now, architects are incorporating the concept
into the very foundations of the home.
“Sustenancy” is a first in design, fusing food and shelter in such an inseparable way.
Architect Pippa Mcleod-Brown, one of the founders of Culina, has put forward a plan to build the first residential tower block with a gastro-lab purposely built in. She says it’s inspired by the gastrointestinal system, serving as a central and connected system of energy input and output. It still carries the main elements of Culina – the fusion of high tech and low tech cooking techniques, the main heating and cooling elements, and the basement cellar. The main improvement is the incorporation of other rooms, such as toilets and baths, living rooms and bedrooms. Heating from the ovens also heat the living spaces, while waste like graywater and rubbish go into composting and recycling.
Dr. Mcleod-Brown is also suggesting a new type of residential leasing to go along with her project: sustenancy. Instead of owing monthly dues for shared facilities, the “sustenants” will be required to put in an equitable amount of work into the cultivation and growth of their tower block’s food supply. It’s a first in design, fusing food and shelter in such an inseparable way.
Dr. Mcleod-Brown is also suggesting a new type of residential leasing to go along with her project: sustenancy. Instead of owing monthly dues for shared facilities, the “sustenants” will be required to put in an equitable amount of work into the cultivation and growth of their tower block’s food supply. It’s a first in design, fusing food and shelter in such an inseparable way.
If successful, this could usher in a whole new era. The gastro-lab has already changed the way we think about food, but sustenancy can change the way we live with it. For centuries, people have grown increasingly disconnected from food, unable to know or appreciate their origin and cultivation. Now, the tide is turning, and people are interested in playing direct and active roles in their own food security.
Already, such a setup is poised to change public policies around food supply. The local council is looking to start giving incentives to self-sufficient communities, such as substantial tax reduction on homes with built-in gastro-labs. It is considering doing the reverse – levying tax increases – on grocery stores that still insist on obtaining stocks unsustainably, such as from overseas or from animal factories. The council says that the intention is not to close down traditional grocery stores, but to convince them to shift to join the sustainable sustenance movement.
Already, such a setup is poised to change public policies around food supply. The local council is looking to start giving incentives to self-sufficient communities, such as substantial tax reduction on homes with built-in gastro-labs. It is considering doing the reverse – levying tax increases – on grocery stores that still insist on obtaining stocks unsustainably, such as from overseas or from animal factories. The council says that the intention is not to close down traditional grocery stores, but to convince them to shift to join the sustainable sustenance movement.
The gastro-lab has already changed the way we think about food, but sustenancy can change the way we live with it.
The social benefits of self-sufficiency are clear. The health benefits, environmental impact and economic gains?
Those are the icing on the gastro-lab-grown cake.
