Capitol Hill Urban Cohousing + Lark Rooftop Farm

June 6, 2016 hilary dahl

We are excited to be a part of the Capitol Hill Urban Cohousing (CHUC) project, a new urban cohousing community in the heart of the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. The 4,500 sf urban village infill lot provides nine homes, a community dining room and kitchen, guest room, ground-related commercial space for a 15-person architecture practice, and a 1,600sf rooftop urban farm in a five-story building.

We’ve been involved in three phases during the development of the project. During the first phase we consulted with Schemata Workshop, the project’s lead architecture firm, on the design of the rooftop farm. The second phase was the installation of the site’s drip irrigation system, and the third phase (happening right now!) is the planting and maintenance of the rooftop farm. We sowed the first round of crops on the site in late May, and will continue to maintain the rooftop farm on weekly basis for the remainder of the year.

The CHUC community extends beyond this one site, they will be sharing the garden space with Lark, a well-known artisan restaurant located a few blocks away. The CHUC residential community will be claiming 10 percent of the planter beds and the other 90 percent going down the street to Lark (952 E. Seneca St.). Johnathan Sundstrom, the owner and head chef at Lark, and his kitchen staff will work side-by-side with us at the farm and will use these harvests to inform their seasonal menu.

The residents at CHUC will use the garden as an educational tool,inviting classes from Seattle Central College and other institutions to experience first-hand the community-building and personal health benefits of urban agriculture.