Harvesting Resilience

Vassar College
Urban Studies Senior Project
HARVESTING RESILIENCE:
Developing the design of a food hub through the adaptive reuse
of the abandoned Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory building
Carlos Ignacio Hernández Tellez
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the Bachelors of Arts in Urban Studies
Advisers
Tobias Armborst
Leonard Nevarez

Vassar College
Urban Studies Senior Project
Harvesting Resilience:
Developing the design of a food hub through the adaptive reuse of the
abandoned Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory building
Carlos Ignacio Hernández Tellez
April 21, 2014
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the Bachelors of Arts in Urban Studies
Advisers
Tobias Armborst
Leonard Nevarez

I’ve said goodbye to the overworked notion
that architecture has to save the world.
Peter Zumthor

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Project Summary
A Brief History of the Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory
SECTION I: Food Hub
Towards a Food Hub concept for Poughkeepsie, NY
Cities and Urban Food Systems
What is a Food Hub?
Terminal Market/Destination Food Hub Model
Advantages of a Hybrid Model
Bridging the Gap
Looking Ahead: Rcommended Approach
Opportunities for a Middle Main Poughkeepsie Food Hub
SECTION II: Adaptive Reuse
Contesting the Notion of Static Buildings
Adaptive Reuse Under the Looking Glass
It’s Not All Rosy: Urban Sprawl and Gentrification
SECTION III: Site and Context
Cartographic Contextualization
Site Boundaries
SECTION IV: Current Conditions
SECTION V: Design Precedents
SECTION VI: The Proposal
Flexibility and Dynamism
Openness and Self-Governance
Affordability and Social Equity
SECTION VII: Harvesting the Hard Work: A Virtual Visit
Bibliography

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To the architects that have shaped my architectural experience on the eclectic
Vassar College campus: Eero Saarinen, Marcel Breuer, Cesar Pelli, James Renwick Jr;
To my inspiring adviser Tobias Armborst, for pointing me towards an architecture that is
site-specific, urban-minded, and aware of its historical and cultural contexts;
To Lisa Brawley, whose beautifully articulated thoughts have guided
me on my journey as a queer urbanist of color;
To Leonard Nevarez, for reminding me that, even at nine a.m.,
there’s beauty in all things urban;
To Nicholas Adams, for teaching me the language of buildings;
To Mary Ann Cunningham and her treasure chest full of maps;
To Margaret Vetare, idea-bouncer and loyal confidante;
To Elizabeth Celaya at Hudson River Housing;
To Susan Grove at the Poughkeepsie Plenty Food Coalition;
To my fellow urbanites and partners in crime on the Urban Studies Majors’ Committee:
Lizzie Tepler, Isaac Lindy, Katie George and Maddie Szkobel-Wolff;
To Jeremy Garza, unconditional friend and thesis-writing partner. To Logan Falk-Woodruff for
walking next to me during the entire journey. To my housemates Naimah Petigny, Jeffrey From, and
Akeel St. Vil for providing a lovely home to come to after long nights in the studio;
A mis adorados Carlos y Andreina, y a mis hermanas queridas Elena y Sofia.

PROJECT SUMMARY

This Senior Project consists of a design proposal for a hypothetical food hub establishment housed in
the abandoned Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory building in downtown Poughkeepsie, NY. I draw on
geography and architecture as my principal academic foci within Urban Studies, and my involvement
and experience with the Poughkeepsie Farm Project since 2011.
The growing interest within the field of architecture in adaptive reuse strategies heavily informs
the angle from which I approach this design task. Initially, a brief but all-encompassing history of
the site and building are presented in order to inform the intentions of this locally and historically
specific project. Resident interviews, historical research, GIS mapping, photography and street-level
observation are some of the methodologies employed as part of the contextualization exercise.
But… what exactly is a food hub? A conceptual exploration of this notion is presented in order to
further expand the contexts of this design. The City of Poughkeepsie has long struggled with the
issue of food accessibility and availability of fresh produce in the downtown neighborhoods of the
city. Particularly affected are the residents of the Middle Main area, who, immersed in the car-centric
environment of Poughkeepsie’s main arterials, struggle with issues of affordability of produce as well.
On the other hand, many farmers and ranchers in the area, especially smaller operations, are
challenged by the lack of distribution and processing infrastructure that would give them access to
wider markets, where demand for local and regional foods continues to rise.
Food hubs can help bridge these gaps.
The following document presents my ideas for what I believe would be a building that learns about,
reacts to, and gravitates around food issues yet provides the platform for a wider range of community
and neighborhood-based activities: a true harvester of resilience in the Middle Main neighborhood.

A Brief History of the
Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory
At some point in time, the fractures and surfaces of the Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory were
intact and strong. The waters of the Fall Kill provided this building (and many like it) with the energy
required for industrial might. A Brooklyn shoe manufacturer built this three-and-a-half story brick
factory in 1874 to manufacture his product. 1 In 1899 the Queen Undermuslin Company was
incorporated, and in 1904 it moved from a location on Mill Street into the building in question, forever
leaving its mark on the property. 2
The Poughkeepsie Queen Undermuslins Company
Over time, the building shifted hands numerous times, and each time, it produced something new. A
new proprietor took over within a decade and began manufacturing skirts here. In the last decade of
the nineteenth century, the building stood idle, but in 1902, it reopened to manufacture underwear.
In 1906, the company employed 175 workers and produced over 60,000 dozen undergarments a
year. 3 The garments produced within the walls of the factory were admittedly of “the highest quality,”
and oftentimes would go on to earn awards at competitions such as the Galveston Cotton Carnival
and Exposition. 4
In 1911, the Poughkeepsie Queen Undermuslin Company was deemed as “completely equipped
with all the latest and most improved machinery, made especially for the manufacture of muslin
underwear.” 5 Indeed, the tower of the building features a very early elevator system suspected to be
the first installed in the Hudson Valley. The establishment also contains a number of built-in (and still
functional) features, such as the large scale set installed on the first floor.
The owners of the factory, Robert Stuart and JC MacLean, were progressive employers “whose first
interest is the promotion of the business, but next to that is the improving of the working conditions
of the employees.” 6 All women, the employees were involved in resolving business disputes and
even counted with a tennis court for recreation.
Women workers in the Poughkeepsie Underwear
Factory, circa 1910
1 Flad and Griffen, 65
2 Ibid., Flad and Griffen
3 Flad and Griffen, 72
4 Platt, 102
5 Ibid., Platt, 105
6 Ibid., Platt, 106

As garment manufacturing declined in the United States and was shipped overseas after World War
II, industrial activity in this building ceased and it fell into disrepair. One by one, the windows were
smashed in, and the floors inside degraded and eventually collapsed, leaving the shell that now
stands here today. In this state of decay, it finally was deemed historic, and in 1982, it was added to
the U.S. Register of Historic Places. 7 More recently, it has been the focus of attention since Hudson
River Housing, a local non-profit organization, acquired the property and developed plans to renovate
the building as part of their Middle Main revitalization project. 8
This is, however, not the first time that a rehabilitation effort has placed the Poughkeepsie
Underwear Factory under its looking glass. In the early 2000s, the reopening of Main Street led to
a grew deal of investment in the many buildings that had been abandoned in the downtown area. 9
Mills and warehouses along the Fall Kill were planned as new apartments, including the factory. 10
Unfortunately, none of these plans came to fruition. The cold-blooded sentence that Urban Renewalera
highways delivered to downtown Poughkeepsie was deathly effective, and the indifferent
motorists turned their backs on Main Street and drove away into the sunset and off to the suburbs.
The Poughkeepsie Eagle reports on the esteemed
underwear-making awards earned by the
Poughkeepsie Queen Undermuslin Co.
Not much is known about the history of the building from the mid-20th century on. It now stands on
North Cherry Street, slightly hunched as always, at the intersection of Poughkeepsie’s trinity: The
Fall Kill, Main Street, and the East-West Arterial. Today, colored by the vibrancy of Oaxacan summer
festivals every once in a while, an air of hope has started circulating in and out of the brick shell,
once again.
Now, every summer, Guelaguetza dances take place in
front of the Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory, hosted
by the Grupo Folklorico de Poughkeepsie
It might not be praised in newspapers anymore,
but the factory now inhabits cyberspace in its own
Facebook page!
7 Flad and Griffen, 81
8 Ibid., Flad and Griffen
9 Flad and Griffen, 90
10 Ibid., Flad and Griffen

SECTION I:
Food Hub

Towards a food hub concept
for Poughkeepsie, NY
The design, organization, and function of a food hub can vary tremendously based on several
factors, including: goals, target market, infrastructure, start-up funds, organizational management
experience, and existing relationships. This chapter will seek to provide a general typology of food
hubs, highlighting the Terminal Destination Food Hub model due to its relevance to the project.
Similarly, the goal of this section is to provide a framework to guide the planning and design of a
food hub concept that reaches beyond food access into community service facilities and other
gathering places.
The census tracts containing the Middle Main section
of downtown Poughkeepsie are all designated as
“food deserts” according to the USDA’s online
Food Desert Locator tool
A high concentration of low-income residents (who are isolated from the larger community by
physical and major transportation barriers) characterizes the Middle Main section of the City
of Poughkeepsie. 11 The community is considered to be a food desert with limited access to
supermarket or large grocery stores. Low-access/food desert communities are defined as having at
least 500 people and/or at least 33 percent of the census tract’s population more than one mile from
a supermarket or large grocery store. 12 The USDA’s Food Desert Locator illustrates that three out of
ten census tracts in the City of Poughkeepsie qualify as food deserts. 13 The city has only two grocery
stores, both located near the eastern edge of the city limits.
In a study conducted in 2012 by Poughkeepsie Plenty, researchers concluded that over one in
four City of Poughkeepsie households experiences food insecurity. 14 Access to transportation is a
critical factor, as nearly 79% of city households that usually drive a car to a grocery store are food
secure. On the other hand, food insecurity is evident in 44% of the households that rely on some
other means of transportation to go food shopping. 15 It is numbers like these that point towards a
site-specific, localized solution in order to counteract the lack of availability of fresh produce in the
downtown area. The recent surge of attention on food hubs can help us reconcile the harsh realities
of food accesibility in urban areas and ways in which this gap might be bridged.
11 Nevarez, Grove, Torbin, Simons, 2
12 USDA ERS - Food Research Atlas
13 Ibid., USDA ERS
14 Nevarez et al, 2
15 Ibid., Nevarez et al

Cities and Urban Food Systems
World population by 2050 is expected to be 69% urban (increasing from 6.8 to 9.5 billion people. 16
With urbanization of the world population and price volatility in global food supplies due to
intensification of climate change and diminishing oil reserves comes the need for greater food system
resilience. These issues necessitate a food system that promotes more agricultural production
geographically proximate to population centers. To do so will require infrastructure investment in
supportive aggregating, storage, processing and distribution centers or food hubs.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in its report, Food, Agriculture and
Cities, states that, “Food and nutrition security across the continuum of urban and rural landscapes
embraces a set of core values including:
Chicago’s City Farm is built on movable plates, so
the entire operation can be relocated at the end of a
growing season if leases change
- The tenet that people-centered approaches to healthy diets and the right to food are linked;
- That stronger urban-rural linkages will help buffer price and climate change volatility;
- That disaster risk reduction requires planning for long term food system resilience; and
- That urban consumers will ultimately shape the food system through market choices that support
family farmers and the ecosystems on which we all depend.” 17
In his book, The Vertical Farm, Dickson Despommier examines the urgent need to improve our food
system infrastructure to ensure food security for a rapidly expanding population. The world currently
requires an area of cropland equivalent to the entire South American continent. By 2050, we will
require an additional landmass the size of Brazil to farm in order to feed the expected 9.5 billion
people that will inhabit this planet. 18
While urban food hubs may support the development of robust food system infrastructure, these
facilities have the additional potential to become economic development generators and community
catalysts in declining urban areas. In places such as the City of Poughkeepsie, a food hub may be a
source of needed employment opportunities for low income and immigrant populations. Due to the
multipurpose nature of the facilities, food hubs may encourage an agglomeration of uses that foster
community gatherings and other activities that perform key social functions in the area. 19
16 Matson and Cook, 13
17 FAO, 26
18 Despommier, 43
19 DeLuca, 20

What is a Food Hub?
The United States Department of Agriculture defines a food hub as “a centrally located facility with a
business management structure facilitating the aggregation, storage, processing, distribution, and/or
marketing of locally/regionally produced food products.” 20
At their essence all food hubs, regardless of type, bridge the divide between producers and
consumers. How a good hub bridges this divide provides a loose framework to distinguish
different types of food hubs. Existing and emerging food hubs generally fall into one of three types
of operations, according to the USDA. The type operation defines the primary function or core
components of the food hub, and they are:
Wholesale Food Hub: Aggregation and Distribution
A core function of wholesale hubs is to aggregate produce (often organic) from multiple farms. In a
rural setting, a wholesale hub is close to the source of produce and serves as a drop off point for
multiple farmers. It is then purchased by end markets and other businesses.
Brokerage/Cooperative Food Hub: Active Coordination
Grass roots, volunteer run organizations that function as a direct bridge between consumers and
local farms. An emphasis on the individual buying power of members informs the size of the hub.
A plethora of food hub models available cater to
different types of communities and neighborhoods
Terminal Market/Destination Food Hub: Comprehensive Activity
Provides the space and equipment for food to be stored, lightly processed, and packed. It gravitates
around issues of food accessibility and community gathering. Acts as a business incubator and
shared services facilities including education, community events and neighborhood exchange.
“Food hub” as a term has been applied to a broad spectrum of land uses designed to provide
access to fresh food, but there are marked differences in terms of operations and services with
distinguishing characteristics. Based on the preliminary review of the general food hub classifications
outlined above, the Terminal Destination Food Hub will be reviewed in more detail as it seems to
bring leverage to the goals of this project and Poughkeepsie’s Middle Main.
20 USDA KYF2, 5

Terminal Market/Destination Food Hub Model
Destination food hubs typically incorporate aspects of other kinds of food hubs such as aggregation/
wholesale and cooperative/brokerage, housing these activities within a centralized location (usually
an urban setting.) Proximity to a dense population base means that these facilities provide direct
consumer access or other programs that cater to a general consumer or end user. A destination
food hub may offer an array of services such as cooking classes, nutrition education, business
incubation, on-site production (vertically integrated greenhouse/aquaponics and/or a production
garden) and community gathering space. 21
Economic, social, and health benefits of the
Destination Food Hub model
While aggregation/wholesale or cooperative/brokerage food hubs fall into either a farm-to-business
model or a farm-to-consumer model, a destination food hub may encompass aspects of both,
functioning as a hybrid that serves a variety of end users. The emerging model for a 21st century
food hub in an urban setting operates under the destination food hub model, which has the potential
for the greatest triple bottom line (economic, social and environmental) impacts.
Midtown Global Market repurposed a long vacant, iconic and historic Sears building in Minneapolis
as a terminal market food hub. The anchor tenants and specialty, ethnic food vendors serve the food
access needs and unique preferences of the immigrant populations in the surrounding neighborhood,
while creating a draw for visitors. Mixed-use development of the site with office and housing builds in an
additional customer base for the hub.
A few destination food hubs in the USA:
Weaver Street Market
Greenmarkets/GrowNYC
Detroit Eastern Market
San Francisco Ferry Market
Midtown Global Market
Classic Food Urban Food Factory
The Food Hub at Lafayette Square
Midtown Global Market
21 Rozyne, 40

Advantages of a Hybrid Model
The far-reaching impact that terminal destination food hubs can have is remarkable. Some of the key
advantages of implementing this model include:
Diverse activity. Destination developments include diversity of uses that attracts a variety of user
groups and supports multiple destination programs.
Critical mass. The combination of uses and stakeholders develops in order to support critical mass
of activity that complement and benefit from close proximity to one another.
On-site production. The emphasis on terminal markets is on distribution. On site production may
be a part of a destination model to the extent that it functions as an activity generator and supplies
additional goods to the hub, such as a small garden or aquaponics.
High Plains Food Cooperative
Community benefits. Since social gathering is a key function of destination development food hubs,
they function also as social enterprises that provide community amenities such as low-cost or freeof-charge
event and meeting space, event/teaching kitchens (that support cooking classes, nutrition
education and community functions), classrooms (for nutrition education, family food budgeting
courses, food business start-up and business planning classes), and space for summer lunch
programs for low-income children. Destination food hubs may be pilot sites for electronic benefit
transfers (EBT) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Other health and
social services may include offices for health and human service providers, as well as diet-related
disease screening and counseling.
Economic activity generators. Destination food hubs function as economic generators that
support commerce and job growth, as well as development catalysts that draw visitors and attract
investment. It is important to remain critical with respect to this pointed “benefit,” as issues of
gentrification and the displacement of populations on the face of capital invasion in their historical
spaces will arise.
Weaver Street Market
Transportation access. Reliance on good transportation networks is a key component of
destination food hubs. Public transport, biking lanes and pedestrian-friendly environments are
highlighted, as opposed to plugging the development of the food hub onto the highway system.

Shared services facilities. Destination food hubs act as a business incubator with shared services
facilities (conference rooms, office equipment, phones, etc.) for food micro-entrepreneurs. Such
facilities often accompany a kitchen that supports food business development through value-added
food processing.
Iconic green architecture. Destination food hubs often involve the construction or rehabilitation of
an iconic structure. Design elements reinforce community-gathering aspects of the food hub and
often include green building elements to offset the high energy demands of these facilities.
Bridging the Gap
As the population of the United States concentrates in urban areas, there is growing awareness that
we need to diversify and enhance the contributions of small to mid-sized growers close to home.
Doing so will ensure a reliable and sustainable supply of fresh, healthy food that minimizes ecological
impacts and the carbon footprint of food production and distribution. Destination food hubs are also
gaining popularity as a solution to the inadequate infrastructure available to small and mid-sized
farmers.
Elderly residents of urban centers are among the
greatest beneficiares of food hubs
Beyond increasing food accessibility, “food hubs provide a number of additional services that build
the capacity of local producers and also engage buyers and consumers to rethink their purchasing
options and habits.” 22 As such urban food hubs have the potential to bridge the gap, providing
needed infrastructure for small to mid-sized local farming operations to meet the growing demand
for local food and influence consumer food choices, while collaborating with conventional supply
chains to maintain access to fresh produce in off peak months.
22 Shuman and Wasserman, 37

Looking Ahead: Recommended Approach
Food hub services increase and maintain demand for locally produced food through the promotion of
local farming and educational initiatives regarding the economic, social and health benefits of good
eating habits. No matter the type of food hub, generally such facilities work with farmers to promote
variety in local product supplies and consistent year-round production. How food hubs bridge the
gap between producers and eaters distinguishes one food hub from another.
The model of a destination food hub can take years
to grow into its full potential. Fostering community
relations is a key aspect of the success of this model
After taking into account the core components and key attributes within the context of the
opportunities and constraints of Poughkeepsie’s Middle Main neighborhood, and taking into
account the diverse food access and community needs of Poughkeepsie, this research points
towards using the model of a Destination Development Food Hub. This type of hub will take
advantage of the area’s location within the neighborhood, the city, and the region in order to catalyze
development within the site area, facilitate community gathering and interaction, improve access to
affordable, fresh, healthy food, and enhance the self-sufficiency of area residents through economic
development and workforce opportunities.

Opportunities for a Middle Main Poughkeepsie Food Hub
A food hub with a cooperative structure harnesses the collective power of a group of people, which
is particularly important in an area like Poughkeepsie’s Middle Main with large census tracts identified
as food deserts. A cooperative structure may provide a significant path to self-sufficiency for
residents who experience a high degree of economic insecurity.
This cooperative model may be an ideal way to initiate the Middle Main Poughkeepsie food hub,
since such a structure has low initial requirements initially relying on volunteers for operational
support with the potential over time to grow into a complex, robust entity.
A food hub that focuses on wholesale and distribution services may not be able to fully address
food access needs of the immediate community members and Middle Main Residents. Therefore,
the potential food hub should include direct-to-consumer retail sales of fresh produce and/or a food
bank to provide no-cost access to emergency food supplies, as well as be equipped to operate
SNAP and EBT programs.
A food hub in an urban area like Poughkeepsie presents the opportunity to be an aggregation
and distribution center for urban agriculture and a training/technical assistance outlet for urban
farmers and small food business entrepreneurs. An on-site garden/urban farm and/or greenhouse/
aquaponics facility should be included in planning for an urban food hub.
NOTE TO THE READER
This notion is outside of the scope of this project, but a significant portion of the literature I reviewed
was plagued by problematic neoliberal conceptions. The design and development of these food
hubs seems to be inextricably related to notions of consumerism. Their design is presented in a
universe in which the food hub, its goods and services will be consumed in a capitalist system.
The dichotomy of the food hub and the consumer that engages with it in a predetermined way
is never contested. And so is the certain “food hub aesthetic,” picturing bountiful fields, visitors
often depicted in the act of consumption, and happy farmer smiles all around. This leads to the
perpetuation of the mere structural, class- and race-based inequality that the food hub is trying to
contest. Instead, the food hub should be envisioned as an avenue to create economic equity in the
community through alternative means that do not revolve around the idea of capital transaction. The
destination food hub model delineated above provides important insight in this regard.

CHURCH
ROUTE 9
VIOLET
SALT POINT
NORTH
ROUTE 44
COLUMBUS
MILL
INNIS
VAN WAGNER
MAPLE
BAKER
TAFT
MAIN
HAIGHT
ROUTE 55
HAIGHT
MANCHESTER
ROUTE 9
RAYMOND
ring
of
impact
SOUTH
CEDAR
NEW HACKENSACK

SOCIAL IMPACT
ORGANIZATIONS/NON-PROFITS
FOOD INDUSTRY EMPLOYERS
FOOD PURCHASERS
FOOD PRODUCERS
POUGHKEEPSIE
FOOD HUB
CITY SCHOOLS, CHARTER SCHOOLS
PUBLIC SECTOR
ENTREPRENEURS, FOOD TRUCK
OPERATORS
INSTITUTIONS, COLLEGES AND
UNIVERSITIES
NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTS

SECTION II:
Adaptive Reuse

Contesting the notion of
static buildings
Buildings are not monolithic or static. They can come back to life, and remain flexible structures. The
Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory presents special potential in this regard due to its industrial past.
In today’s consumptive society, the concept of a building outlasting its intended purpose is strange,
confusing, and even abrasive. The great divide has always been form versus function. 23 Designers
only look at one form and one function: the facility design for the intended program. They do not
design in consideration for the eventual end of the established program and the continued life of the
building. simply put, new buildings are not designed to evolve.
Fuller’s Dymaxion House
Prior to the mass influx of housing needed after World War II, buildings were expected to last
multiple lifetimes. Materials with long lifespans, such as concrete, masonry and terracotta coupled
with simple, elegant designs meant a building could be used for decades with just routine care. 24
After the war, with developmental concepts like Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion House and the
proliferation of the suburb, buildings in general started to become less and less permanent. Buildings
needed to go up quickly and cheaply; concrete and masonry mass gave away to the cheaper and
quicker use of stock designs and light materials. The ideology of “McMansions” and “cookie-cutterhousing”
unfortunately is now the norm, with architecture relegated to the side.
This situation has led to several questions: What of our heritage? What happens to the energy stored
in the creation of the building, of the waste created from constant demolition and construction?
What happens to the surrounding site with the constant swelling and compression of space?
Perhaps there is another way to design and think about buildings. Could a building evolve as it is
needed? Is the lifestyle of a building longer than its conceptive function? The process of adaptive
reuse is one of the most important, viable solutions to these issues.
Adaptive reuse of an old dock, transformed into an
office building by Dutch architect Trude Hooykaas
23 Thornton, 35
24 Ibid

Adaptive Reuse Under the Looking Glass
The concept of adaptive reuse has many technical definitions and understandings. To just look at the
notion in context, one can define it as the adaptation of an unused space in order to accomodate
new programmatic uses. The word adaptive is a key part of the term, as is the installation of a
program different than the intended one into an existing building.
The process lends itself to interesting and demanding design processes. Architects and engineers
are tasked with the idea of injecting new life and catalyzing the production of different programs
while at the same time operating with the sensibility and responsibility (beyond the merely legal) to
respect the set of histories and legacies housed within old abandoned structures.
Mt. Vernon Mill, Baltimore, MD
Adaptive reuse in the architectural field has typically meant taking an existing warehouse, for
example, and redesigning it into another building type, such as a restaurant or a high-end
condominium. However, over the past several years, we have seen a rise in architects (and other
professions) engaged in service or community-engaged activities and moving their client base
beyond the wealthy few in the suburbs to those in dire need of shelter, food, medicine, and care. 25
Particularly in the design fields, the notion of “found objects” fuels the idea of a site-aware and
socially conscious project. 26 Hence adaptive reuse becomes more than repurposing existing
architecture as mentioned above. Instead it becomes more about repurposing objects that did not
originally function as architecture or places of shelter. This notion is an important one to highlight
when thinking about the synergy that is generated when the design of a food hub for Poughkeepsie
is approached through the adaptive reuse lens.
Derelict or abandoned buildings often have a great
deal to offer in terms of location and character
and should be viewed as opportunities rather than
eyesores
25 Hein, 39
26 Bullen 52

However, buildings carry more than just finite measures of use and abandonment. They have social,
historical and environmental aspects that need to be assessed as well. Other than the economics
of the problem, adaptive reuse has advantages and disadvantages. It preserves history in creative
and modern ways, it contributes to environmental initiatives and preserves the intrinsic energy of the
already-constructed facility.
The success of the Eastern Columbia Building
paved the way for the Adaptive Reuse Ordinance in
Downtown and the rest of Los Angeles
Langston notes, “Around the world, adaptive reuse of historic buildings is seen as fundamental
to sound government policy.” 27 The adaptive reuse process allows for these buildings to remain
historically relevant in a modern context. Bullen notes that “the most successful historic preservation
adaptive reuse projects are those that best respect and retain the building’s historical and cultural
significance and add a contemporary layer that provides value for the future.” 28 Rather than a
uniformity of modern construction, cityscapes are delineated with older architectural styles relevant
to the local community. In effective adaptive reuse projects, instead of pure historic preservation,
there should be a sense of the contemporary as well. When done effectively, these projects can
create a unique environment, one of subtle anachronism and style. 29
Sustainable development meets the needs of the future without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs. As Thornton notes, many newly green technologies can
be embedded in our historic buildings in unobtrusive or invisible ways. 30 Also, the adaptive reuse
for new interiors of otherwise historic shells opens the door for application of the entire range of
sustainable materials in any new layer of construction.
There is ubiquitous agreement among researchers that adaptive reuse can make a significant
contribution to the sustainability of existing buildings. There is growing support of the notion that
adaptive reuse satisfies a key concept of sustainability by extending the useful life of existing
buildings. 31 They are not static. This reuse lowers costs in relation to materials, transport, energy and
pollution when compared to the erection of new buildings.
27 Langston, 79
28 Ibid., Langston
29 Bullen, 54
30 Ward, 102
31 Bullen, 62

It’s Not All Rosy: Urban Sprawl and Gentrification
Adaptive reuse programs revitalize downtown areas by converting older, economically distressed,
or historically significant buildings to accomodate new uses and programs such as apartments,
live/work units or visitor-serving facilities. This reduces vacant space and preserves the downtown
area’s architectural and cultural significance acting as a catalyst in prompting investment in
community projects and other initiatives. Bullen observes that, “The boom that occurred in
converting office buildings to residential lofts breathed new life into downtown Los Angeles at a
time when it was urgently needed.” 32 In spite of the apparent positive outcome of adaptive reuse
programs, there is a risk of achieving environmental and economic benefit to the detriment of social
equality, particularly the exclusion of affordable housing units thus contributing to larger matters in
flux, such as the suburbanization of poverty.
Uniformity in the cityscape is increasingly evident, particularly in the proliferation of standardized
hotel, restaurant, and streetscape architecture. Consequently, local cultures are losing their local
identities in the periphery of urban centers. In downtown Poughkeepsie, some historic places are
already undergoing a reinterpretation of their cultural heritage by responding to the commercial
forces of consumer demand. Local vernacular history and architecture is an important dimension
of civic places, strengthening local identity, contributing to investment in public works, and
retaining communities. This project seeks to reveal how an adaptive reuse project can cater both
to the historical side of the building it inhabits and the local community that surrounds it without
succumbing to the pressures of real estate development. When social objectives are neglected, they
concern the users, local community, and the urban population.
Freetown Christiania, within Copenhagen, provides
excellent examples of community- and
family-spearheaded adaptive reuse projects. Pictured
here is the town’s movie theater, housed in an
abandoned Danish military facility
The exclusion of affordable housing in adaptive reuse projects, combined with the outward
movement of development and urban cores, leads to rings of gentrification that exclude populations
from their historic places of living and playing. Gentrification issues can, however, be mitigated by
adaptive reuse strategies devoted to lower-income residents and the development of a site with the
inclusion of members of the community around it. 33
The premise of working towards class and social equity needs to remain on the frontlines, and not
hidden or tergiversed underneath a blanket of neoliberalism.
32 Bullen, 113
33 Hein, 32

SECTION III:
Site and Context

Cartographic Contextualization
Using methodologies such as Geographic Information Systems and data from the United States
Census Bureau, satellital imagery and photography, the following section aims to expand on the
research needed in order to develop an informed, effective design for the food hub in Middle
Main Poughkeepsie. The titled images and diagrams speak for themselves, but some of the most
noteworthy findings include:
- Residents of Poughkeepsie’s Middle Main are more prone to living in dense urban areas, having a
total yearly income of less than $20,000 and living below the poverty line.
- Availability of fresh produce for City of Poughkeepsie residents is very low, as the biggest and more
diverse grocery stores that can provide the freshest produce are all in the outskirts of the town and
require to be accessed via automobile or public transportation, which can be unreliable.
- The Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory is not the only building abandoned in the neighborhood, so
its community-centered adaptive reuse could inspire other projects in the area.
- The presence of urban amenities that increase walkability and maximize the streetscape, such as
flower pots, benches, light posts is uneven. Towards the western end of Middle Main they tend to be
clustered whereas the area around the abandoned factory does not contain the same pedestrianfriendly
elements.
- The nodal and network qualities of the site hold strong potential that could support the food hub’s
mission. At the intersection of transportation networks, historic sites and natural elements, the
project takes on the shaping of the city around it. At the local level, multiple connections might be
formed not only with individual households but with restaurants and other establishments. Regionally,
a plethora of Hudson Valley farms have potential to become strong partners of the project.

Population Density
Number of people in census
block group/block group area $0 - $9686
0.00 - 1.61
1.61 - 4.61
4.61 - 8.87
8.87 - 13.77
13.77 - 29.78
Per Capita Income
$9687 - $19373
$19374 - $29059
$29060 - $38746
$38747 - $48432
Number of households
living below the
poverty line
0 - 13
14 - 33
34 - 59
60 - 89
90 - 136
137 - 228

"
Food Accessibility in
Poughkeepsie, NY
"
POUGHKEEPSIE UNDERWEAR FACTORY
LARGE SUPERMARKET
DELI/GROCERY STORE WITH
SPORADIC SUPPLY OF FRESH PRODUCE
CORNER STORES WITH
NO FRESH PRODUCE
BODEGAS/CONVENIENCE STORES
EMERGENCY FOOD PROVIDERS,
PANTRIES, SOUP KITCHENS

Parcel Use in the
Middle Main Area
ABANDONED
APARTMENT
COMMERCIAL
GOVERNMENT/SERVICE
PARKING LOT
RELIGIOUS CENTERS
UNKNOWN
VACANT

Urban Amenities
in Middle Main
FLOWER BOXES
GARBAGE CANS
GENERAL STORES
GREEN AREAS
GROCERY STORES
LAUNDROMATS
TREES

The Hudson River Housing Network
CONK
MANSION
A
HER
OTTAGE
ERTY
MILL
GARDEN
CANNON
CATHARINE
L
CRANNEL
LITTLE SMITH
CLINTON
SMITH
MAPLE
GRANT
THOMPSON
HARRISON
BEMENT
LENT
MOR
Hudson River Housing Property
NY Main Street Program Partner
Middle Main Initiative Partner
City/State Property
Fall Kill Improvement Area
New Public Greenspace
Streetscape Enhancement
New Area Signage
PERSHING
WINNIKEE
LAWRENCE
MANSION
MULDOWNEY
FIT
ACADEMY
HAMILTON
CHERRY
ROSE
WHITE
FLANNERY
RESERVOIR
CANNON
MONTGOMERY
CHURCH
JEWETT
PALMER
CARROLL
STATE
MAIN
HAMMERSLEY
FOX
MAY
BAKER
REYNOL
QUAK
GR
LEXIN
MANITOU
FOUNTAIN
EDG

55
MAIN ST
55
N
Nodal Quality of the Site at the Intersection Between
East-West Arterial, Fall Kill and Main Street

Connectivity and Network Relations of the Site at the
Local and Regional Levels

The parcel is surrounded by the “asphalted moat” that Main Street, North Cherry Street and the
adjacent parking lot create. The northern facade of the building faces the encapsulated Fall Kill.
These four bounding elements present each facade with a different set of conditions and external
characteristics--the busy street, the desolate one-way street, the enormous parking lot, the forgotten
creek--that present different scenarios for physical links between building and surroundings.

SECTION IV:
Current Conditions

SECTION V:
Design Precedents

DAVID ADJAYE ASSOCIATES
IDEA STORE WHITECHAPEL
LONDON, UK

IIT CAMPUS CENTER
OMA
CHICAGO, IL

OPENOFFICE ARCHITECTS
DIA:BEACON GALLERIES
BEACON, NY

SECTION VI:
The Proposal

GARDEN/GREEN PUBLIC SPACE
MAIN
STREET
FALL KILL
NORTH CHERRY STREET
The main design premise behind this project has been the creation of a building that is site-aware and
integrated into the larger processes that make up the urban fabric around it. With this idea in mind, the
design I propose for the food hub reacts to a series of “urban journeys” that occur on site. Connecting
the built environment with natural elements, the building absorbs these paths generating the massing of
solids on the first floor. The porous nature of the building then becomes one of its main assets.
Programmatic components of the building:
affordable housing
aquaponics meeting rooms
distribution room
community cafe demonstration kitchen
dance studio
co-working space

FIRST FLOOR
FLEXIBILITY
AND DYNAMISM
The idea of the urban journeys has been incorporated into the first floor plan. The active
spaces are delineated by a series of glass panels that enable visual connections among the
spaces, which are still equally maleable to the needs of the user. A few key features:
Tables and stools in the community cafe can be stacked and
rearranged in order to form a small stage for performances, lectures or
film screenings;
System of glass panels on railings allow for
opening/closing/shaping of spaces and altering the main corridor;
Food distribution tables and stands are designed on a triangular modular
system to cater to the spatial needs and requirements of different farmers
and artisans depending on the season and quantity of product;
Demonstration kitchen and seed library empower neighborhood residents with the skills
and materials to become active shapers of their diets and the food system at large.

DEMONSTRATION
KITCHEN
COMMUNITY
CAFE
SEED
LIBRARY
RECEPTION
FOOD DISTRIBUTIO
ION AREA

SECOND FLOOR
OPENNESS AND
SELF-GOVERNANCE
The second floor provides slightly less transparency and porosity due to the fact that
more fully enclosed spaces are housed on this level: seminar and workshop rooms, as
well as a dance studio. Since this food hub is not formally attached to any sort of umbrella
organization, self-governance is encouraged among community groups in terms of rotation
and reservation of spaces.
On-site aquaponics production complements products brought in by local farms.
The dance studio serves as a platform for events such as after-school activities, ice breaker
activities and maternity workshops, for example.
The co-working space provides aspiring food entrepreneurs and small businesses without
formal office space with a place to work and engage in productive and creative thinking,
thus strenghtening community networks. The small exhibition space promotes local artists
and public computers are a valuable resource available to the neighborhood.
The porosity of the building is not only horizontal, but also vertical--featuring a double
height space that connects to the distribution room downstairs, the hub’s focal point.

SEMINAR ROOM
WORKSHOP
ROOM
DANCE STUDIO
COWORKING
SPACE
AQUAPONICS
EXHIBITION
SPACE

THIRD FLOOR
AFFORDABILITY AND
SOCIAL EQUITY
3
2
1
The third floor is the least public and transparent level of the building. That is
because seven private affordable housing units occupy the space, providing shelter
at affordable rates for low-income families and collectives. Half of them are studio
apartments, while the rest are designed on a live/work model. Ideally, the people
occupying these spaces would take active part in shaping activities, programming
and space management for the food hub. These live/work units provide much-needed
floor space or studio space for aspiring local artists, farmers-in-training, social
workers and students.

STUDIO
APARTMENT
#1
STUDIO
APARTMENT
#2
LAUNDRY ROOM
WASTE MANAGEMENT
RECYCLING
STUDIO
APARTMENT
#3
STUDIO
APARTMENT
#4
LIVE/WORK
UNIT #1
LIVE/WORK
UNIT #2
LIVE/WORK
UNIT #3

The design for the western facade of the building
finds its roots in crop availability calendars. The
identity of the building is clear to the pedestrian
walking along Main Street or strolling by the Fall
Kill. Besides providing an aesthetic value to the
project, the panels act as the building’s main green
infrastructure element--helping reduce the use of air
conditioning units over the summer and providing
shaded environments on the second floor during
the hot summer and cold winters alike.

SECTION VII:
Harvesting the Hard Work:
A Virtual Visit

A view of the building’s main feature, the glass corridor, as observed from the community cafe. The materiality of the lobby with
wooden floors and transparent passageways generates a strong visual connection between the rooms and their users.

A view of the community cafe highlighting the modular quality of the furniture and spaces defined by glass panels on railings.

The distribution room is the highlighted programmatic component of the first floor, a flexible space that connects farmers and users.

The demonstration kitchen is, perhaps, the room that benefits the most from its transparent envelope. This way, cooking and food
processing classes remain open and accessible to the users traversing the space.

The incorporation of the “urban journey” into the design allows for the exploration of food-related activities as pedestrians make their
way through the building.

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