Assistant Professor Stewart Hicks and Adjunct Assistant Professor Allison Newmeyer of Design With Company will be particpating in the Field Test exhibition at the Science Gallery in Dublin, Ireland. The exhibition, which will run from March 11–June 5, focuses on the future of global food production, asking "where and how we should grow" in the coming years.
The proposal from Design with Company is titled Hedge H.U.G., "a fictional exploration of a rural urbanism, where the city is brought into and around the farm. The project operates in the space liberated by efficiencies found when consumers live near where their food is grown. This space includes the area dedicated to growing food that is lost during storage, shipping, etc. We concentrate this “free” space toward the periphery of the farm, outlining its boundaries and occupying the area traditionally reserved for hedges. Our proposal does not eradicate the hedge, however. They are important components of the farm which provide archeological, historical, landscape and wildlife value. Instead, this intervention operates as an enlarged hedge and we reimagine the functions a hedge traditionally serve while adding new value and opportunities. Our hedge is composed of blocks, reminiscent of enlarged stones, which contain the urban programs. In between these blocks are spaces that serve the double function of providing public urban space as well as concentrated ecological armatures. This installation demonstrates a potential configuration for a Hedge H.U.G. while also providing lose blocks for visitors to construct their own to imagine new forms of reoccupying the farm."