AIA Toledo High School Design Competition Blog: 2018 HSDC Kickoff

Thank you for joining us again for our 68^th year of the High School Design Competition. This year we teamed up with an organization called Bittersweet Farms located in Whitehouse, Ohio. http://www.bittersweetfarms.org/ Bittersweet Farms serves autistic adults in a farm setting on 80 acres of fields, woods and gardens that offer rich, varied, and abundant opportunities for self-paced, distraction-free activities that are perceived as immediately meaningful by their participants. With the increase of affected adults and decrease in skilled practitioners, Bittersweet Farms is developing a public clinical facility to host practitioner training and assist in identifying the abilities of persons from the entire spectrum of Autism Disorders in order to address their needs appropriately.

The project scope encompasses a facility for practitioners to work with current residents and public patients as well as provide a larger multipurpose room not currently available on the site. The location allows for public access to the main road while keeping a distance from the resident housing. Adjacent to the new facility is a group of greenhouses along with a market that sells the produce as well as other goods made on site. The market is planned for further development to increase sales and public awareness of the facility. This is not in the scope of the project, but should be considered as a focal point during design. The client has asked that the new facility blend in with the rural context and existing structures. The design should utilize material selections with an emphasis on durability and environmentally-conscious design. See the full program below for more details, requirements and design awards.