Book + Breakfast
M.Arch Studio 3, Fall 2022
Instructor: Nataly Gattegno
As early as 1969, the Black Panther Party was well aware that food insecurity was a major issue for American children. Unable to count on assistance from the federal government, they took matters into their own hands and began a free breakfast program that would ultimately feed thousands of kids each day across the country.
Book + Breakfast proposes that a local library in the Hoover Foster neighborhood of Oakland can provide meals to community members of all ages. The library gives space, education, tools, and even materials (the food itself) to the neighborhood. Furthermore, the library can encourage social gathering and engagement. The local organizations that lack their own base of operations can take advantage of spacious gathering halls to host events.
While the food and library programs would be separate, visitors should find themselves encountering both activities as they move through the building. Book + Breakfast also seeks to give outside space to the community; Open air dining areas and a rooftop garden will be accessible to the public.
My project envisions food as an opportunity for neighbors to come together to pass on knowledge, to provide and care for the vulnerable, and to teach one another the basics of gardening and cooking. With this mindset, food-related programming is not secondary or tertiary to the library’s typical functions, but rather shares equal importance.
