IUA.CAAS
Team members
Lu Zhang
fresh graduate
University of Webster
Fei He
Master
SiChuan Fine Arts Institude
Qiang Yang
Master
Sichuan Fine Arts Institute
Yicheng Yang
Master
Sichuan Fine Arts Institute
Yue Wu
Master
Sichuan Fine Arts Institute
Yangyang Cai
Master
Institute of Urban Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Chang Luo
Bachelor
Sichuan Agricultural University
Yuchuan Song
Bachelor
chengdu agricultural college
Haozhen Wang
Bachelor
China Agricultural University
Wenyu Zhang
Bachelor
Jiangsu University
Miaomiao Sun
Bachelor
Tiangong University
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About us
We are a group of passionate and creative young people with cross-disciplinary background from the Institute of Urban Agriculture (Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, CAAS), the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute and universities across China. We are dedicated to exploring the future patterns of urban agriculture and wise solutions for city sustainable development. Using an interdisciplinary and system-based approach, we hold a vision to rebuild urban life with agricultural science and technology, and hope to provide city dwellers with sustainable food supply and living environment that are healthy, resilient and inclusive.
Artist impression of the site & indoor production structure
One-liner that describes the essence of your project
IUA.CAAS has proposed the Oasis Action Plan to turn the East Capitol Urban Farm into a lively community-based farm that simultaneously serves as a sustainable food producer, an employment training base , an educational park and a business incubator, expected to greatly improve the food security status and the quality of life for local residents.
Total concept pitch
Ward 7, where the East Capitol Urban Farm is located, is a relatively underdeveloped area in Washington, D.C. Local residents have difficulties in accessing affordable and nutritious food and suffer from issues such as unemployment, lack of educational resources and chronic diseases. IUA.CAAS’s Oasis Action Plan holds “community activation” as the core design concept and aims to establish a community-based urban farm that simultaneously serves as a sustainable food producer, an employment training base, and an educational park. The “community activation” is embedded throughout our entire plan, from the operational mechanism design to the spatial and architectural design. Specifically, the operational mechanism consists of three programmes, including the Oasis Mom Farm, the Oasis Food Lab and the Oasis Bank, working together to establish a self-loop model that achieves both economic viability and social impacts. The Oasis Mom Farm Programme is mainly the food producer and source of finance. It can provide about 120 tons of affordable and nutritious food year-round through environment-friendly cultivation methods. The agricultural-crafts production and catering services can bring economic benefits, employment positions, and provide financial support for the other two programmes. The Oasis Food Lab Programme collaborates with other NGOs, functions as a food re-distributor and can provide food from entities such as restaurants to residents in need. The Lab also provides services in food education, health management, and professional training course (which increase employment) through diverse online and offline activities. The Oasis Bank Programme is an incubator that supports creative ideas to be developed into small businesses, aimed to improve the economic status of the community. In terms of the spatial design, local cultural elements are well integrated to provide an interactive and comfortable environment where community residents could communicate, relax, workout and learn, in a sense of belonging. By means of the “production-employment-education-incubation” model, the Oasis Action Plan offers an integrated solution that improves local food systems and QoL of local residents from the health, education, society and culture, environment and infrastructural access dimensions, expected to greatly activate the community, increase the community cohesion and contribute to the urban sustainability and resilience.