UrbanBuild 8 - Outdoor Market + Pavilion

Ground Breaking - We started design on January, 2013 after having substantially completed designs.

UrbanBuild is a yearly program run at Tulane University. Usually focusing on housing, this year we set out to design + fully construct an outdoor market + pavilion for the Harmony Projects in Central City, New Orleans. 

The neighborhood was a site for the Harmony Oaks Projects, rebuilt after Katrina. On the request of the neighborhood community organizers we designed and constructed an outdoor market for the residentially dominated area. The project was intended to bring much needed neighborhood pride and involvement to the area. It used six movable vending pods to turn the site into an outdoor market and garden. 

After excavating the site, we lay pavers in a bed of sand and gravel. The benches have begun to be installed after being welded and cut.

A close up of one of the benches.

The vending pods are delivered (bright orange), with the steel frames for the pods on top (maroon).

The frames are held in place with wooden supports, while they are stick-welded in place.

The roofs are put in place, while the flooring is built out. 

The drop-ceiling and walls are built up. Grass and gravel are filled into the site to complete the landscaping. 

The steel door frames are put in place, set in sliding tracks. 

The polycarbonate panels are put in place and a protective coating is added to reduce heat and solar gain inside the pods.

A pod exterior is completed, while the finishing touches are done to the interior. 

The construction comes to an end in early May, ready for its opening date on May, 15th. 

Local, Henry, vends his food from one of the pods, after reserving it for $10 a day. 

A schematic elevation to help explain the design to the Harmony Oaks and the community. 

Denise, Harmony Project's local, sells her Soul Food from pod number 6.

A schematic elevation to help explain the design to the Harmony Oaks and the community. 

A close-up of a vending pod in elevation, section and plan. 

A site plan of the site, located one block off Louisiana + La Salle.