HDG is excited to announce our 2023 submission to the Design Pittsburgh People’s Choice Awards through AIA. The People’s Choice Award provides the community with an opportunity to weigh in on designed spaces in our local community. HDG submitted the Meyer Farm project for the conceptual/unbuilt category since the project fit the category so well with it being designed to work with the existing site and native plants and wildlife and focuses on reusing the building materials when possible and sourcing sustainable building materials when needed to provide a living classroom experience for environmental education that harnesses sustainable practices and emphasizes nature in the suburban farm setting.
The design team, consisting of HDG and Mackin Engineering, leveraged Harry Meyer’s interest in sustainability, the Allegheny Land Trust’s (ALT) knowledge of conservation, and guidance from stakeholder focus groups in agricultural preservation, financial stewardship, and education to influence the planning, programming, and overall design of the project.
Discussions with stakeholders and ALT influenced the choice to work with the site since so many native plants and wildlife grow and live on the land it was important to protect them and would help keep site costs lower. Meyer Farm was designed to act as a living classroom for environmental education by providing multiple, hands-on outdoor classroom spaces that lend themselves to learning. Sustainable design practices were woven into the buildings’ design using solar panel arrays for outdoor lighting, rain cisterns to water the gardens, natural lighting to create the connection with the outdoors while minimizing lighting needs, and cross ventilation to cool the indoor classroom in warm summer months. These subtle nods to sustainability confront the visitors and implores them to consider how much we consume.
The nods to sustainability can also be seen in the reuse of salvaged material from the existing structures and sourcing environmentally conscious materials so ALT could lessen their impact on the environment and reduce waste when possible. With this being an unbuilt project, there are many opportunities to involve community volunteer groups and local craftspeople to help in building this project. Particularly in renovating the existing barn to become a historical agricultural museum to display Harry’s farm equipment collection and learn about how those practices have inspired innovative agricultural techniques that many modern farmers use to cultivate their land. The museum will be a place to celebrate agricultural farming machinery and celebrates local craftspeople in the renovation of the historic structure to become a new space that revolves around the local materials and craft.
HDG is proud to have submitted the Meyer Farm project to Design Pittsburgh 2023, and we need your vote! Although a jury will select a winner for each category, a People’s Choice award given to the project voted on the most by the public. Please visit the link below to cast your vote for the Meyer Farm project in the “Conceptual/Unbuilt” category.
Voting closes on Sunday, October 8th at midnight. Our thanks to all of you for supporting our firm!
Click here to vote: https://aiapgh.org/events/design-pittsburgh/pca-design-pgh/meyer-farm/
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