The UNC Farm at Penny Lane
Chapel Hill, NC - 350 Sq ft
The people, site, and goals inherent in this project are why we practice architecture. This is a relatively small design and construction project that will have an enormous impact on our community at large. The aim is to utilize this project as a prototype, replicating its ideals as expressed in built form across North Carolina and possibly the United States.
The UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health has approximately 40 acres near their Chapel Hill campus that has been developed as a retreat with therapeutic programs and activities for people with severe or persistent mental illness. Since breaking ground in 2012, the staff at the UNC Farm at Penny Lane has cultivated a site that contains a community garden, trains emotional support dogs, holds cooking classes, leads yoga groups, maintains a walking trail, and provides horticulture therapy.
Master planning for the campus includes a future wellness center, holistic health clinic, tiny home village, and multi-acre solar farm. Hobbs Architects, PA was commissioned to design the tiny homes, a community house, and an outdoor pavilion based on UNC research studies, in addition to conducting space programming meetings with project leaders.
