Covington Farmers Market

Covington
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Architects
designbuildLAB
Location
134 W. Main Street, 24426 Covington
Year
2011
Client

City of Covington

Student Design Team
Anne Agan, Emily Angell, Zachary Britton, Chris Cromer, German Delgadillo, Chris Drudick, Cody Ellis, Jacob Geffert, Rachel Gresham, Shannon Hughes, Elizabeth Madden, Ryan McCloskey, Andrew McLaughlin, Brett Miller, Elizabeth Roop, Erin Sanchez, Sara Woolf

Professors
Marie Zawistowski, Architecte DPLG – Professor of Practice
Keith Zawistowski, Assoc. AIA, GC – Professor of Practice

Structural Engineer
Draper Aden and Associates - Dave Spriggs, PE

During the fall semester, the students spent a number of weeks studying existing Farmers Markets around Virginia – which they visited – and around the world – which they studied through publications, drawings and photographs. Using that information, a list of requirements given to them by the client and their own interviews of the Covington Farmers Market vendors, the students were able to establish guidelines and specific requirements for the project.

All 17 students first made individual design propositions for the project. From those, a master plan was determined then a design for the building. In this way, all of the students contributed ideas to the discussion. It was very important from a pedagogical perspective that not one “scheme” was chosen. Rather, they collaborated to develop the final design for the project.

The project is conceived as 3 parts: Ground Plane, Occupied Space, and Pavilion Roof. All component parts are based on a 10’ wide module to facilitate prefabrication and transportation to the site. At the scale of the town, the building reads as a seamless gesture. At the scale of the occupant, the details express the modular construction. A locust deck serves as the market floor. It folds up to allow the nesting of an office, storage room and toilet room. It extends beyond the market and into a sloped earth park to provide a stage and seating. A sculptural roof and ceiling of reclaimed heart-pine and galvanized sheet steel floats over-head.

This market pavilion is the modern expression of timeless agrarian sensibilities.

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