Design + Project Management + Construction

Urban Sprouts came to LMNOP with the desire to create an off-the-grid outdoor kitchen for the June Jordan School of Equity community garden. Urban Sprouts is focused on “creating culturally relevant and enriching opportunities for youth and their families to connect with food and natural environments.”

The kitchen is planned to seamlessly move food from the garden to the table. Food is brought through the end doors to be washed, prepped, cooked, and then served under the canopy. The stations are complemented with drawers that store spices, cooking appliances within reach, and plenty of counter space to work. With such small quarters, there needed to be a place for everything with additional room to grow. This prompted unique storage solutions like the cabinetry attached to the side-door that allows access to serving dishes while outside. The canopy area provides a shaded retreat in the garden that works as a classroom and a gathering area for the community.

Gardening is messy; and with that in mind, the countertops, floors, and cabinet facing needed to be easy to maintain. The aesthetic of the kitchen also needed to be kept simple so food and up to 10 students could move through with ease. The garden location also presented no access to grid hookups, so more sustainable means of powering the kitchen had to be integrated. This was possible through 6 south facing solar panels, composting bins, and a greywater collection/filtration system.

Client: Urban Sprouts

Location: 325 La Grande Ave, San Francisco, CA 94112

Completion: November 2016

Materials: Shipping container, metal faming, cabinetry

Scope: Design, Project Management, Custom Fabrication, and Construction