flexiblefullpage -
billboard - default
interstitial1 - interstitial
catfish1 - bottom
Currently Reading

Manhattan’s Union Square gets its very own farmhouse

Mixed-Use

Manhattan’s Union Square gets its very own farmhouse

GrowNYC, a sustainability-focused nonprofit, commissioned ORE Design to create the community events center and learning space.


By David Malone, Associate Editor | August 17, 2017
Interior of the GrowNYC multifunctional area

Photo: AGP Amanda Gentle Photography

An unused space has been repurposed as a multifunctional community area, bringing GrowNYC’s fresh food markets, recycling resource locations, and local garden support under one roof.

GrowNYC, a sustainability-focused nonprofit, commissioned ORE Design to create the community events center and learning space, located near Union Square in Manhattan. Dubbed Farmhouse, the center includes a classroom forum, educational kitchen, and conference center. The rooms can be combined to operate as a fundraising venue.

Suspended acoustic baffles made from recycled water bottles translate the traditional geometry of the American farmhouse into an abstract ceiling motif that guides visitors throughout the environment. Reflective solar tubes illuminate a feature wall. An existing mechanical shaft in the center of the room was turned into a mirrored jewel box for a vertical hydroponic wall. The educational kitchen and large storage closets were built below an existing fire stair to create an additional projection surface. The result is a modern building with hints of classic American farmhouse architecture.

Related Stories

Mixed-Use | Feb 9, 2022

David Chipperfield Architects to design Schützenstraße mixed-use development in Munich

The firm recently won a competition for the project.

Mixed-Use | Jan 13, 2022

Details unveiled for Atlanta’s Campus 244 mixed-use development

S9 Architecture is designing the project.

Mixed-Use | Jan 10, 2022

Mixed-use Arsenal Yards completes in Watertown’s East End

PCA master-planned the seven-building, one million sf destination and designed the urban village, residences, and open spaces.

Mixed-Use | Jan 5, 2022

Waterfront Station II breaks ground in Washington, D.C.

The mixed-use project will include 30% affordable housing.

Mixed-Use | Dec 21, 2021

Riverside Wharf will be Miami’s newest entertainment complex

Cube3 Architects is designing the project.

Mixed-Use | Nov 11, 2021

New mixed-use development breaks ground in Miami Beach

Domo Studio is designing the project and Origin Construction is the general contractor.

Mixed-Use | Oct 22, 2021

40 West 12th residential tower opens in Atlanta’s Midtown neighborhood

The project is part of the 1105 West Peachtree Development.

Multifamily Housing | Oct 20, 2021

Sacramento’s first luxury high-rise rental residences announced

Southern Land Company is developing the project.

Mixed-Use | Oct 11, 2021

Manhattan West opens the heart of New York City’s Far West Side

The project links several New York neighborhoods.

boombox1 - default
boombox2 -
native1 -

More In Category



MFPRO+ Special Reports

Top 10 trends in affordable housing

Among affordable housing developers today, there’s one commonality tying projects together: uncertainty. AEC firms share their latest insights and philosophies on the future of affordable housing in BD+C's 2023 Multifamily Annual Report.


halfpage1 -

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021