ROUND BARN BREW CO.
PROJECT LOCATION - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The design proposal focuses on transitioning progressive perennial grain research from the test plots and labs of plant geneticists and into the every day landscape. This is a vision for a didactic landscape, showing the campus community and the general public the integrative power of agriculture. The proposal searches for a new agrarianism that is sensitive to the human-scale. Two questions considered in the research were, can you farm for carbon capture and promote an ethic to the land? And can you brew an artisan product that might facilitate a localism and commitment to place?
LIVESTOCK
Livestock play an important role in the farming system at the round barn site. Both the sheep and the chickens provide ecological services throughout the growing season. In the spring the chickens serve as “weeders” and in the summer eat grasshoppers. Sheep mostly prohibit the growth of smother crops and keep the alleyways clear. Sheep also consume some of the vegetation on the lower portion of the hop vine forcing the growth upwards. Livestock could serve as an educational resource for students wishing to gain knowledge in small-scale animal husbandry. As the round barn site develops and the proposed restaurant becomes a reality the chickens and sheep could be come a local meat/egg/milk source.
SPECIALTY CROPS
Six different beer recipes were selected based on the ability to grow the plant species in the Midwest. Seasonality was specifically considered in an effort to incorporate the longest range of flavors throughout the growing season. The percentage of produce in the recipes was used to develop a crop distribution scheme. The design devoted one-third of the site to specialty crops, one-third of the site to perennial grains (wheat and sorghum) and one-third of the site to hops.
GROWING HOPS
Curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to grow hops in hopes of understanding how tangible implementing a project like this might be. Hops are an impressive vine to say the least.
