My thesis was a urban garden/tower design in Schenectady, NY. There is a food desert in the Hamilton Hill district nearby the site, within walking distance. Food deserts are neighborhoods with limited food access – for example they may have convenience stores and fast food restaurants but no grocery stores selling meat and fresh produce. Average BMIS are higher in food deserts and lower in more affluent areas that have a larger variation of food available. The problem is exacerbated when some residents don’t have transportation either. My goal was to explore how to solve the issue of a food desert with the use of a community garden greenhouse. Not only can local families grow their own food to bring home, but the building also serves as a co-op, growing and distributing food for local restaurants. Additionally, a farmer’s market fills the void created by the lack of grocery stores. I combined this function with classroom and event space as well as a communal kitchen so that the building became an agricultural education center for individuals of all ages and improves local social life. The community function will serve as event space and exhibits within it will help put sustainability features in the building on display. The very latest in technology will be used in order to power the building and grow plants, and methods will match local availability and climate. The form of the building takes a low, two or three story tall orthogonal shape except for the soaring greenhouses, which have an additional seven stories. The towers have a shape that stands out from the rest of the building, and they are designed so that every wall is placed to maximize solar penetration. The roofs pitch downwards towards the center, meeting skylights that pop up. The towers are both perched on top of the nothern wing, and each overhangs out over the courtyard on three sides. The double-height ground floor houses the farmer’s market along Broadway, the communal/ demonstration plot in the center, and the food processing area. The farming towers house the vertical farming panels, which are arranged around the central opening, maximizing natural solar gain. Along the northern side of each tower is a service core, housing necessities such as storage and germination areas. These two towers are connected by bridges. Meanwhile, the southern wing houses multipurpose and exhibit space on the ground floor, classrooms, a lecture hall, more exhibit space, and offices on the second floor. All of this wraps around a second courtyard space. Technical systems used to make the building environmentally friendly include a solar wall for power, a stormwater collection and retention system, operable skylights for ventilation, and walls insulated with hay. During the night or days when solar exposure is low, pink grow-lights are used.