ARPL 401

Fall 2015

Critic: Lavinia Pasquina

Aquaponics is the future of farming.  It is a fusion of aquaculture and hydroponics, and is symbolic of the life cycle.  Given its status as a closed-loop, sustainable system, it is inevitable it will become a large part of our civilization; aquaponics will be enshrined through architecture. 
The building is set in Lynbrook Park, Bethesda, Maryland.  The aquaponics center consists of several buildings, the first of which is a culinary school.  The culinary school is connected to a culinary library.  Above the culinary school is a restaurant, which is cantilevered above the pools of water inside the greenhouse. It contains two oculi made of structural glass; one opens to the sky above, and the other opens to the waterfall below.
Also within the center is an auditorium, a convention center, a pavilion, a market, and a greenhouse. The greenhouse itself contains a large pool full of various freshwater fish, such as salmon and trout.  As the water is filtered, it moves up through the building.  Once it is completely purified through natural processes, the water falls from the restaurant into the pool below.