The goal of this competition is to create an identity for Grand Acres, a community garden in the Fair Haven neighborhood of New Haven. Grand Acres is one of the community gardens owned and managed by the New Haven Land Trust (NHLT). The goal of this design competition is to create an identity and a sense of unity and permanence for Grand Acres that could also serve as a model for other community gardens around the city.

NHLT would like to make their gardens, many of which are at risk for development, more “permanent” with various structures, fences, rainwater harvesting systems and/or architectural landscaping. Grand Acres, one of the first community gardens in New Haven, located at 47 Grand Ave., would benefit from a unifying concept to create a sense of place. This garden was created by a grassroots effort when a group of people from Perkins Street decided that they wanted something better for the neighborhood than the abandoned, overgrown and littered lot that was occupying the space. Today, the Grand Acres Garden is a fixture in the neighborhood where people meet, socialize, work together, nurture plants, harvest food and grow community. The intervention resulting from this design competition will help create a better setting for this activity and identify the presence of this strong community to the rest of the neighborhood.

http://www.newhavenlandtrust.org/gardens/grand-acres
http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/competitions/grandacres