BINHI
Location | Pasig, Philippines
Instagram: a.composition
email: codabid@gmail.com
Reterra Design Competition 2021
Urban communities face the looming dangers of food security anchored on the growing urban density and scarcity of land for farming. Binhi houses the advanced urban farming technologies, research laboratories, and training facilities that aim to equip the residents of Kapasigan the necessary skills for growing and cultivating vegetables, mushrooms, and other fruit-bearing plants deemed appropriate. It also features a water filtration system, rainwater catchment facility, and a composting area.
It is a lightweight structure clad in polycarbonate material and supported by PVC-clad posts with wood infill. This amphibious structure rests on a marshland along the riverbanks of Marikina River, on a floating gangway erected through a stilt support system that allows it to float as the waters rises.
The design concept stems from the natural flow of the river and the farm-to-table dynamic, as characterized in the arrangement of spaces where the structure co-exists with the environment: creating a functional and thriving ecosystem.
The architecture of Binhi is very open from its permeable planning of spaces to the use of transparent materials that maximize the penetration of natural light inside the building, creating a conducive greenhouse for the plants, and allowing the onlookers to view the interior of the building from the elevated promenade.
