Architecture Adjunct Professor Andrew Metter will lecture on “Urban Farm and Food Pantry Prototype for the 21st Century” at AIA Chicago at 6 pm on Thursday, April 5.  Metter will discuss his model for a more sustainable method for food production and distribution to Chicago’s hungry families, based on both his personal research and IIT studio investigations. Metter’s lecture is part of AIA Chicago’s “A Year to Grow” series, exploring the role of architects in urban agriculture and food systems.

Based on his teaching and research, Andrew Metter, FAIA, will discuss a more sustainable method for the production and distribution of food for the hungry in the city of Chicago. Most of the existing large scale urban food depositories and Pantries are based on a model of food production and distribution which has not changed in the last forty years. It is essentially the same model used by large private grocery chains, involving off-site food and dissemination to large distribution centers. In some cases, these distribution centers are then accessed by either individuals or organizations, which truck the goods to smaller, local urban distribution points. In other cases, patrons are required to visit the large facility, which is typically in a suburban, less accessible, location. Moving forward, this model will be unsuitable, and requires rethinking and re-design, from food production techniques and location, to more innovative, mobile, and finer-grained distribution strategies.

Metter is the senior vice president and principal designer at Epstein Global.

This event is sponsored by Comunity Interface Committee.