culinary education.

As technology consistently moves forward with innovation, our lifestyles are adapting with it. However, our relationship with food needs to go in the other direction; back to our roots. Our children are growing up in a world where no one knows where their food came from, when or how it was made, and what is really in it. The freezer aisles of grocery stores are stocked with readily available meals, allowing for more and more disconnect between what we think we are eating and what we are actually eating. 

This project was done for my undergraduate interior design senior capstone class in the spring of 2013. It is a culinary school for children and their families that addresses our needs of 'slowing' food down. Located in Evansville, Indiana, it offers cooking classes with local organic foods, as well as educational classes on nutrition and the importance of taking the time to make healthy meals for ourselves and our children. The school is inspired by the Spoons Across America organization that is dedicated to teaching children about real food and how it is grown. The building is 18,000 square feet, equipped with several kitchen/demonstration classrooms as well as educational classrooms. It has a cafe, library, agricultural space for students to watch their food grow, and even has a vegetative roof with a community garden. 

Sustainable building systems were implemented including the usage of low-emitting, local and reclaimed materials, strategic space planning for an abundance of natural light, passive heating and cooling systems, and efficient kitchen ventilation that filters and reuses heat to regulate building temperature.