CASCADE
GROW COLLECTIVE : HOOP HOUSE | SECOND-YEAR STUDIO
Carnegie Mellon University | School of Architecture
Instructor Joshua Bard | Professor Nicolas Azel | Fall 2016

Project Site : Roof of David Lawrence Convention Center in Downtown
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
In Collaboration with Han Min Htet Kyaw, Shariwa Sharida, Annie Zhang, Kai Zhang, and Christine Zhu
To understand the concepts of urban farming, our group was tasked with designing a lightweight greenhouse with steel conduit and greenhouse plastic enclosure atop a 3'x10' concrete planter to help plants grow during winter at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Downtown Pittsburgh.
While creating the Hoop House, we had three design intentions: ease of access to the plants, protection from external environmental factors, and to create a planter that displays a relationship with its surroundings. To create ease of access we had doors placed on both sides of the Hoop House and these doors opened up along the entire height of the greenhouse. To allow for protection from external environmental factors, we limited the amount of opening spaces we had and saw that the doors closed and opened allowing for maximum and minimal ventilation. To integrate the Hoop house into the surrounding site, we decided to bring in curves that resembled the flowing waters beside the David Lawrence Convention Center which also maximized the space available to the plants for growing and allowed us to take full use of the greenhouse plastic and its shrinking abilities.
Shop Drawings
Compiled documentation of full Shop Drawings .








Half-scale Model



Final Product & Renders








Construction & Installation







