This Gastronomic Terrarium is a microcosm of what our world could be if we critically investigated our food production and consumption habits, with the non-human agents in mind. It comprises an experimental growing space and test kitchen, research centre, and spaces to eat and drink, all of which aim to reconnect visitors with nature by reconnecting them with the origins of their food.
As an early civilisation, humans existed harmoniously within their natural context; a part of a delicate ecosystem in which many elements – human and non-human, were inextricably linked. The hunter/gather system relied on seasonality and sustainability. Today, our food production is driven by capitalism, creating inequality and overproduction that can be linked to the climate crisis. – “But from the moment it appeared advantageous to any one man to have enough provisions for two, equality disappeared”. As a society, we buy food imported from every corner of the globe with a significant carbon footprint, with no regard for seasonality and an expectation that all food is available to us whenever we require. This is often at the exploitation of the environment and of the people who produce the food, often in detrimental conditions.
This project aims to reconnect the visitor with their place within the natural world by reconnecting them with food – the growing, the harvesting, the cooking, and the recycling. This is achieved through architecture which celebrates the process through transparency at all levels of the scheme. The food cycle extends from purely growing and cooking, and will include the research of modern cooking methods, the production of alterative protein sources [insects], alterative farming [hydroponic and aeroponic], and alternative energy production [algae farming].
The scheme is an experimental terrarium of modern culinary production and will be an exhibition of a future which recalibrates our connection to the world around us.
