FARM, St. Gabriel, LA - IN DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

South of Baton Rouge, close to the river, in the heart of the industrial plant economy, a new moderately priced community is developing. A strong need for this housing stock is needed for all of the families that depend on the plant economy. The developer/owner wants to create a walk-able neighborhood with community gathering spaces and walk-able and bike-able connections to the existing community infrastructure (parks, schools, and other communities.) This is not an urban place but still there is the desire to create a tight knit community in this more remote condition. The FARM community will not only offer multiple housing sizes but also communal green spaces, productive landscapes, local eatery in the existing farm barn, community center in the existing farm house, and other small business that support the occupants of the community. The developing architectural language uses the existing buildings on the site and the history of Louisiana farm houses for inspiration. Homes will have porches that are close to the pedestrian paths and adjacent with their neighbors bolstering the community relationships. Cars will be relegated to the side of the homes with parking in the back. All pedestrian paths will connect to the shared green spaces and all roads will lead to the center of the neighborhood, the eatery in the barn. Some of the green spaces will be for playing, some for food gardening, some for fruit orchard, some for walking your dog, and some for ungroomed nature. The grand goal is to create a community that is sub-urban and sub-rural, that is walk-able, engages the users with each other and offers more than just homes but also services, gardens, produce, and shared spaces.