Winter break provided a substantial amount of time for me to deep dive into the world of plant-based nutrition and the obesity epidemic in the United States. Through some wonderful connections I was able to interview 6 experts in various fields in order to understand nutrition from a multidisciplinary view.
I interviewed: - The Director of the Nutrition Department at Bastyr - A medical doctor who has been published hundreds of times for research on the connection between child obesity and their environment. - A wellness-coach who emphasizes the use of plants as nutrition and eating mindfully - A 16 year old self-proclaimed vegan student. - The head architect of The University of Washington. - The lead of University of Washington’s Landscape Architecture designs. From these varying perspectives I gained a deeper understanding of the potential for change that food can offer Americans. To further my research I watched the documentaries: Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead; Sugar-Coated; Forks over Knives; The Kids Menu; Vegecated; Cowspiracy; PlanEat; and Plant Pure Nation. These documentaries all shared a common theme: that despite scientific evidence, Americans have been taught that food is for consumption and not health. The food paradigm throughout the States pressures us to make unhealthy decisions about what we consume. The lack of food education and access to fresh produce has detached the American public from where we source foods which has created a disconnect between what we see at the grocery store and what we see growing in the ground. My project is focused on reconnecting the American public with the food they consume in an effort to decrease life style induced diseases. In order to approach this task I’ve decided to focus my efforts in school-aged children. By teaching them and allowing them to have access to fresh foods which are well prepared. Beginning with the kids has been successful in multiple cities such as Chicago where a community garden was built geared towards high schoolers. The garden has become wildly successful and has changed all of its members lives. Community gardens have long been put into schools as a solution for getting them more involved with the food they eat. However, the major limitation with this solution is that during the most fruitful months- the summer- the kids are gone and never experience the satisfaction of eating what they grew. According to the head of the Nutrition Department at Bastyr the most successful way for people to change their eating habits is by physically putting food into their hands and having them try how velvety smooth, rich and creamy parsnips can become when blended and mixed with toasted coriander seeds. By letting kids try these treats they become interested and excited about what they are consuming, bringing that interest home. Many times people’s only option is to eat a $1 bag of Cheetos verses a $2 bruised banana. Some areas don’t have access to any fresh foods because they live in a food desert, meaning there is not fresh foods available within 5 miles. The correlation between food deserts, low school district ratings, life style diseases and income are strong. In more impoverished areas where there is no available fresh, whole foods, there is more disease. To make this project more tangible I wanted to keep it as local as possible. I began researching where in WA state there were food deserts, high obesity rates, high heart disease, low school district ratings and high cancer rates. By looking at the map and shading areas of gray I found the most affected areas in Aberdeen, in the county Grays Harbor along the coast. I looked at major towns in these areas and compared their census data and found that almost a quarter of Aberdeen’s population is school age. Having so many school aged kids could really positively change this area. They have 2 public high schools, and multiple elementary schools, yet only one middle school which is on the other side of the river than the other schools. All of the schools in the area rate less than 3 of 10 on their test scores, leaving a lot of room for improvement. My project will focus on rehabilitating a community in the heart of Aberdeen on the lot next to one on the high schools and an elementary school. The lot is zoned for commercial and will be transformed into a community park and green house that will be open year round producing foods. Students will be welcomed to work in the garden for free food; the DECA club at the high school will work in the small retail shop attached to the greenhouses; and classes from all three schools will be held in the space to learn about the earth. The building will work towards earning the Living Building certification, being self-sufficient and therefore not changing the homeostasis of the community. The schools will also receive grants from Farm to School, and will begin incorporating local produce and products in place of nationally produced ones (such as changing to a local swiss cheese verses American cheese). Farms to Schools is already in existence in WA in the Bellevue School District and has had very positive feedback. Moving forward my next steps are to think about what the needs are of such a lavish building. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Barrett, Peter, and Yufan Zhang. "Teachers' Views on the Designs of their Primary Schools." Intelligent Buildings International 4.2 (2012): 89-110. ProQuest. Web. 25 Jan. 2017. Campbell, Thomas M., and Dan Woren. The China Study. Ashland, OR: Blackstone Audio, 2016. Print. Chiles, Prue. "Classrooms for the Future: 'an Adventure in Design' and Research." Arq : Architectural Research Quarterly 7.3 (2003): 244-61. ProQuest. Web. 25 Jan. 2017. Gislason, Neil. "Mapping School Design: A Qualitative Study of the Relations among Facilities Design, Curriculum Delivery, and School Climate." The Journal of Environmental Education 40.4 (2009): 17-33. ProQuest. Web. 25 Jan. 2017. King County. "Commercially-grown farm products in King County, Washington." Commercially-grown farm products in King County, Washington - King County. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2017. LB Web Pro of Grays Harbor WA. "History of Aberdeen." Brief History of Aberdeen WA. N.p., 25 Aug. 2015. Web. 29 Jan. 2017. Mozaffar, Farhang, and Seyedeh Somayeh Mirmoradi. "Effective use of Nature in Educational Spaces Design." Organization, Technology & Management in Construction 4.1 (2012)ProQuest. Web. 25 Jan. 2017. Roehl, Amy, Shweta Linga Reddy, and Gayla Jett Shannon. "The Flipped Classroom: An Opportunity to Engage Millennial Students through Active Learning." Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences 105.2 (2013): 44-9. ProQuest. Web. 25 Jan. 2017. Sigurðardóttir, Anna Kristín, and Torfi Hjartarson. "School Buildings for the 21st Century: Some Features of New School Buildings in Iceland." CEPS Journal : Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal 1.2 (2011): 25-43. ProQuest. Web. 25 Jan. 2017. The American Heat Association. "Overweight in Children." Overweight in Children. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2017. Power, Mark, and Sunand Prasad. "Schools for the Future: Inner City Secondary Education Exemplar." Arq : Architectural Research Quarterly 7.3 (2003): 262-79. ProQuest. Web. 25 Jan. 2017.
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I’m designing a multidisciplinary obesity research center that will reconnect the American public with the sourcing of their food. My research will draw from American social culture, economics, psychology and the comparison of Eastern and Western Preventative Care. It might manifest in the form of a community center or a athlete training center or a school. I want to allow my research path to define the form rather than prescribing one preemptively. I’m interested in designing a pilot program based in WA. Although we might not have the highest obesity rate, prevention is key. Bellingham is ranked in the top 5 healthiest cities in the US while Yakima is one of the most obesity cities. This range is why WA is a perfect state for Reflecting on themes in my life, I discovered I have an interesting relationship with food. I love talking about it, cooking it, sharing it and being around it. For me, food is directly related to wealth and power. Being able to afford and having access to eating out, and purchasing gluten-free, fair trade, organic, free range, dairy-free products, identifies your status. However, eating and buying these food are two different conversations for me. Be surrounded by this rich and natural food, yes, but eating it, only sparingly. I became obsessed with counting calories, and only eating foods that look like the food they’re in their original form. Spiraling, the connection between access to food and wealth became evident, not just for me but for many Americans. My first bachelors degree was in cultural anthropology and I dove into researching how culture strongly shapes opinions and belief systems. So how have American food paradigms shaped relationships with food for other people besides me? How has access to education and economic climate changed eating habits? Research shows the clear correlation between obesity and access to basic needs My project will explore the correlation between obesity and access to nutrient-dense foods as preventative care. Since Children are our future the project will be geared towards education for students under 18 years old and their families.
As Anthelme stated in 1826 "Tell me what you eat and I'll tell you what you are" I want to design a space that reintroduces access to nutrition as a form of preventative care. Feeding America, an organization that connects people from all demographics with food from food banks. They specialize in children hunger, senior hunger, rural hunger, African-American hunger and Latino hunger. It’s it interesting that they separate ethnicities on their home page? The sociological threads of this are evident, and further examination needs to be had. They connect people with food, yes, but where are the food banks getting food? How far is the food shipped before arriving into a starving mouth?
Does hungry mean foodless? Most of the food banks I’ve personally green beans, which hold virtually no vitamins or minerals, how are they supposed to support healthy immune systems or have energy to work or school. At the slightest hint of stress they fall ill resulting in missed hours and sometimes, losing their jobs. Looking at Bellingham as an example. They are in the top 5 leanest cities in the US, 85% of the population are white, 40% have a Bachelor’s degree and the median house hold income in $42K, and 23% of the population are in poverty. Perhaps there is a connection with location and access to food. Examining their counterpart weight-wise, Yakima, WA just over 15% of residence have a Bachelor’s degree, the median house hold income is $40K, and 23% of the citizens are under the poverty line. The numbers are very similar except for the difference in education. The 30% gap is quiet significant, especially since the number of people in poverty are equal. Are food banks more prevalent in Yakima than in Bellingham? Has the city government created a paradigm that public assistance is accepted? Yakima is known for their farms, as such where is the produce being shipped to and what are the locals eating? Probing questions like these will help to lead me to my BFA Thesis topic of reconnecting Americans to the sourcing of their food. volunteered at distribute only canned foods. No fresh and no chilled. According to USA Today, 1 in 7 people rely on food banks for their main source of nutrients. If they are being fed boiled and sealed in metal DiBlasio, Natalie. "Hunger in America: 1 in 7 Rely on Food Banks." USA Today. Gannett, 2014. Web. 30 Nov. 2016. "Population Estimates, July 1, 2015, (V2015)." Bellingham City Washington QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. US Census, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2016. In order to dive into why we think the way we do and what makes us believe what we believe we used Ann West's book "Mapping" for some inspirational questions. Hand writing them made this process more personal and inquisitive. Below are my answers to three questions: How does your background inform your experiance?How do you situate your work?What spaces intrigue you?In order to develop a strong thesis project, I need a strong research question which will then evolve into a space/ building.
Mentors are an important part of being a rounded and innovative designer. They offer new perspectives and challange your thinking, expanding thinking patterns and ideascapes. For thesis I have common threads moving through my three ideas. 1. Urban planning/ campus planning: Organizing the patterns and overall function of an area as well as synthesizing data interest me strongly. 2. Healthcare: Learning more about how Seattle's healthcare system works, what's lacking and how people are currently accessing it is tangible. Also, I'm interested in how Eastern and Western practices are interlaced in Seattle through UW. 3. Environment + Health: How does your direct environment effect your health? How can space act as preventative care? How does public healthcare influence people's sickness? I'm planning on interviewing many professionals in the fields of Social Work, Healthcare and Business. After building a list of candidates to talk with my next step will be scheduling interviews. As of now, my research question is: How does Seattle public healthcare positively affect under-served populations through preventative care? - What variety of care is offered? - How has it changed over the past 10 years? - Where is healthcare going? -How does Harborview (the largest public hospital catering to those without health insurance) encourage preventative care? - Politically, what is Seattle doing to keep the city healthy? Nama School of Health Ayurvedic Medical Association Fairfield, IA Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa has partnered with the UW School of Medicine and is looking to expand. MUM has a defined campus with 1,500 students currently enrolled with 78 countries represented. Their current Master Plan includes 53 individual buildings, however does not encompass the calculated growth in student population or shifts in goals. With a median age of 42.3 and 95.1% having earned a degree, the city is a lively college town boasting only 10,000 city residence. Only 16.8% of the pop. are below poverty line, the city provides a safe space for academic experience. With an established sustainability plan, master plan and health program, UW is excited to partner with this budding college. RockTenn Paper Mill Living Building Challenge Tacoma, WA Why are mills limited in their design decisions? I’m proposing to turn a nationally recognized landmark, the Aroma of Tacoma, into a beckon of sustainable intention while working towards LEED certification/ the Living Building Challenge. Using Copenhagen’s newest proposed Power Plant as inspiration, changing the landscape, and the smell, of the plant into a notable and respected establishment. With the changing corporate infrastructure the company is in flux, and they are interested in creating a statement which better represents their mission and ideals of Tacoma, their site and their work. Wobo headquarters
Living Building Challenge/ City Planning Oakland, CA Oakland, in the top 5 highest crime rated cities in the US. Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (WOBO) has been gifted 5 million dollars from the city to produce a mater plan to decrease crime rate and increase walkability. They are interested in opening a headquarters near downtown that would create a community space for community-based nonprofits. Case studies have shown to decrease violence in neighborhoods and increase community involvement under the idea of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Located near the most violent neighborhood, 16th street is an abandoned lot that has been vandalized and left to disintegrate for over a decade. Rejuvenating this building would create a safe space and a major change for the community. Running towards the end to earn my second Bachelors feels both daunting and surreal. Never would I have believed that I would voluntarily return to college to earn another degree. Although low and behold here I stand, existing in the moment and soaking in the pleasures of my final year.
Being a Donghia Scholarship applicant was an honor and a learning process. I was one of two chosen from my entire class to apply and represent the college. I also have the unbelievable opportunity to intern with Perkins+Will architectural firm in Seattle over the summer. They trusted me with project elements which were vital to the success of the project; I was trusted rendering client photos and compiling client presentations; I was trusted completing all the LEED paperwork and documentation for a 16 million dollar project and I was trusted to befriend coworkers and foster friendships. Learning on the job taught me an invaluable amount of information and I feel honored and blessed that I was earned this experience. My final year in school I want to mindfully dedicate to myself and my ability. I want to allow myself to fully invest in my schooling and maintain my 3.94 GPA. I want to be present and engaged. However, my final year in school is definitly not the last of my education. |
I’m designing a Living Building certified middle school that features IB curriculum, locally sourced products for the meals (through the Farm to School program) and a community green house that will be open to the public year round, will be maintained by the kids during school and by the community center during the summer. Archives
May 2017
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