Integrating Architecture and Food, A Match Made In Heaven

I was so excited to discover an event that centered itself on both food awareness and sustainable design practices. Slow Food Nation in San Francisco, California held the event with collaborative efforts by the 2008 Architecture and the City Festival to present a collection of films and presentations, and best of all, a large variety of tasting pavilions, each showcasing a different locally- sourced ingredient. What I find most ingenious, is that the pavilions themselves were all designed to reflect the type of ingredient they housed. For example, the cheese pavilion and the chocolate pavilion both incorporated and referenced elements used in their production, sourcing only recycled objects and materials in their designs.

Possessing a passion for both good food and good design, I began thinking about their relationships, and specifically how both food and architecture reflect their immediate environments and contribute a sense of identity to those places. In architecture, we draw inspiration from our surrounding environments to develop a distinct structural style as we have all seen in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie Architecture designs, for example. Architects must also be aware of the topographical, geological and climatic specifics of the region, which largely determine the final outcome of the design.

When we think about food in association with architecture, some interesting parallelisms arise. Knowledge and availability of local and seasonal ingredients is so important in our efforts towards more sustainable food practices, just as the source of construction materials are important in sustainable design processes. Foods naturally relate people to their environments and help to develop a distinct local and global identity. More and more, chefs are looking to their own backyards for inspiration from the freshest, cleanest, most seasonal ingredients available, making for simple menu creations that emphasize the natural flavors of the ingredient.

A blending of all the right elements creates the framework for the perfect dish, or even the perfect design. Food has always been a great way to reach people, so why not educate them on the issues pertaining to smart, sustainable food strategies while integrating relevant, equally sustainable design approaches? Love the idea!

http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/09/03/slow-food-nation-2008-tasting-pavilions/