Sustainable urban design


 

Five Cornell graduate students collaborated on the winning entry of the 2015 Better Philadelphia Challenge, a student urban design competition sponsored by the Philadelphia Center for Architecture. The international competition asks university-level students to design innovative solutions that address Philadelphia’s underdeveloped sites and infrastructure issues and are broadly applicable to industrialized cities worldwide.

Team members Akshali Gandhi, MRP ’15; Robert Hanifin, MRP ’15; Li-Yu Pan, MLA ’15; Chen Sun, MLA ’15 and Lishutong Zhang, MLA ’15, all studied in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning’s New York City program this semester.

Their project, Delaware Valley FOODWORX, was awarded the 2015 competition’s first prize of $5,000. The students will present their winning entry at an awards ceremony Feb. 18 in Philadelphia.

A four-phase urban redevelopment proposal centered on food security and flood resiliency in the greater Philadelphia region, FOODWORX includes an agricultural research campus and vertical farming on Petty Island, a food distribution center, urban agriculture and riverfront revitalization. Serving as a catalyst for sustainable and innovative growth, the project imagines a self-sufficient and resilient Philadelphia over the next 100 years.

Two other Cornell student teams won special category awards in the competition, for economic development and compelling graphics.

– Daniel Aloi