A city can only sustain itself if it can keep food in tandem with its overall growth and development. Gandhinagar being a potential hub in the next 10 years will grow in all dimensions possible, making it a complex issue of sustenance. To match its growing needs within the ecological limits, Foodista central envisions Gandhinagar to grow locally with sustainable goals. It will emerge as a vibrant public space with edible landscapes celebrating food by cultivating, collecting, and consuming within the heart of the city. It will allow people to process food through edible and productive landscapes where people can also dine in-between grow patches. Hence, the project envisions an integration within urban farming and edible landscapes, resulting in an interactive playful, and socially engaging experience with food being at its epi-center.
At the city scale, the strategy looks at having the central space of every sector (area based on the population of each sector) to be allotted for urban agriculture and its facilities for the people of that particular sector. The catalog shows the attributes of the masterplan on what all is required for a self-sustainable sector.The evolution till the final iteration of Foodista Central started of with a basic geometry shape ‘Circle’ which aimed at creating a seamless fluidic landscape across the central vista connecting to major landmarks of the city. The circles then merged to form a continuous green corridor with urban forests, grow areas, water feature and architectural features, which tried playing with exceptional user experiences with productive landscape at its core. Embracing with a new identity for the city, the vista emerges with the concept of a free flowing landscape form creating vibrant public spaces with edible landscapes that attract various functions and activities across user groups. Expanding on the productive theme, the grow areas are supplemented with urban forest corridor that stiches up the central vista and provides means of food and shelter for other urban fauna.The fluidic landscape tries to revive the nature and agricultural identity of a place where agriculture and social uses intersect. The space that is designated as a public space holds on to that character strongly but also adds to a third dimension of creating environmental friendly aspects of climate enhancing nature where food can be grown, seen, taught, consumed, and traded at the very same place. Surrounded by food, the chart shows food that can be grown according to different seasons, which can be the best for that particular season also in relation to the demand. This also educates its space users with signboards of what all options are available that can be grown during certain times particularly.The view shows people sitting in the centre of the grow patches doing their daily chores and enjoying edible landscape as their view. The plaza and the entry points also allow a huge flow of passer-by to move across the edges and help eye on street function for children playing in the plaza area for maximizing safety.This view shows how the conservatories react to the plaza ahead and how it attracts various human activities. The cafeteria outside the conservatory serves food that is grown with hybrid crops that are experimented and grown within them. People can view them while eating outside in the café.Everything grown around needs to be traded as well for the economic cycle to function. The commercial retail space have food stores on its grade level with eateries and restaurants that provides seating space on the plaza as well as on its roof top. The section shows the varied ground conditions and the height to width ratio along the central vista edge for a better understanding of the quality of space. It also shows the largest attractor point, the food convention center, which has an underground facility and an over ground green turf. Gradually Foodista central will not only confine itself to the central space but will take over more of the city reaching the river alongside Gandhinagar. It will allow and provide more opportunities to local suppliers to meet growing demands and help Gandhinagar self sustainable in terms of its food requirements and make it a food heaven.
