How does an architect build a sandwich? This seminar course investigated the relationships between food and design, and the logistical infrastructures that condition them, such as the mechanisms of presentation, distribution, and consumption. Focusing on the historical and contemporary architectures of food, both as spatial artifacts and processes, students explored how food has impacted the organization of buildings, public spaces, and cities. This knowledge set up how students engaged in contested forms of artistic expression and socio-political provocation.

Students relied on Buffalo as the primary research site, seeking compelling intersections between food and the urban environment. The city’s food inequalities became a primary topic of critical discussion, centered around themes of access, quality, and “food gentrification.” Students then reflected on how these disparities could be addressed at different scales.

The first assignment of the course was to provide an architectural take on food. Students were encouraged to draw on any previous studio experience or references from their field. Andrew Griffin’s work was inspired by, Cooking in Progress, a documentary about the world-famous chef Ferran Adria, and the use of molecular gastronomy. Inspired by the dishes served in the documentary, Griffin curated a series of images expressing the relationship between plating and presentation, comparing the mind of a chef and the mind of an architect.

Through pairs of images, Griffin compared his ordinary dishes, as he would prepare them daily, with the same dishes prepared in a more artful manner, exploring the aesthetics of everyday life through food.

Student: Andrew Griffin

Faculty: Daniela Sandler

Term: Fall 2022

Course: ARC489/589

Program: BS Arch, BAED, M Arch, MUP