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ROOTED
In this Farm-to-Market fable, a thriving farmers’ market grows from the fallow foundations of an abandoned farmstead.

As land elsewhere in the suburban town was being developed, Brighton, NY, made a big bet on this, the last former farm. Could it become a community asset to a suburban population, yet stay true to its roots?

Rather than conjure a myth of Old MacDonald agriculture for this modern market shed, we aimed to add a chapter to the farmstead on which we built.

We heed timeless principles intrinsic to agricultural buildings:
Siting.
Scale.
Rhythm.
Pragmatism.
Expression.
Economy.

It is this ethic which we apply to a 21st century building, while honoring the collection of inherited ag structures on the site.

Simple form. Repetition. Bulletproof cladding. Crisp detailing brings these mundane principles into the realm of architecture. And into the public realm.

Deep overhangs regulate sun. Their articulated, bracketed supports — inspired by agricultural buildings at rural county fairs — provide depth, visual interest and shadow play to the south-facing facade.

By day, milk-glass windows diffuse the light. By night, these openings glow like beacons to passersby, a nod to free-stall barns in modern Genesee Valley farms, with translucent openings that shine at dusk.

Inside, exposed structure: steel posts, diagonal bracing, and parallel-chord trusses play off a simple interior palette of concrete and OSB.

Functionally, this yields a tight thermal envelope of insulated panels, permitting an unbarnlike, year-round, conditioned community space. Genealogically, this framework is a direct descendant of the ubiquitous “pole barn” structural system of the modern farm, as demonstrated by the onsite 1960’s feed barn.

The result of all this? A seamless integration between the spirits of countryside and community. Unpretentious. Rooted in place. Bright! A room animated by its people, its produce and its purpose.

Owner: Town of Brighton
Contractor: Building Innovation Group