Project Description

Confronting existing problems faced by streeteries such as pedestrian safety hazards, internal heating, and pandemic-induced labor shortages, foodCHAIN seeks alternative solutions for a more adaptive and sustainable streetery. Instead of fighting for constant and private occupation on public streets which can overload traffic, endanger the occupants, and complicate the safety precautions, foodCHAIN develops a method for promoting circulation along an underutilized stretch on 10th street by encouraging occupation on nodes of wasted space through loosely defined boundaries of catenary tensile forms for block parties, an outdoor climbing wall on a corner lot, and streeteries on top of the existing abandoned viaduct. In the case of Philadelphia potentially following NYC in prohibiting expensive and environmentally harmful propane-fueled patio heaters, foodCHAIN utilizes the wasted heat from nearby factories by piping it through a passive biomaterial filtration system embedded in the floor for a natural heating source. The project is installed with numerous environmental solutions including a passive radiant cooling system in the ceiling, a water-wall for central warming, and a hydroponic system of community vegetable growth as a viable use of rainwater collected by the sustainable ETFE tensile roof system. In addition to the self-sustaining climate measures the project takes, foodCHAIN also addresses the staff shortage problem for today’s restaurants, by interconnecting all four occupancy nodes into an extensive pulley system for a no-contact solution to deliver food straight from the kitchens of local restaurants to the streetery patrons making for a one-of-a-kind dining experience that can be replicated in other underutilized areas of the city.