This project involved the development of plans for a large - scale food distribution center and farmer’s market, located at the nexus of a comprehensive transportation hub, close to downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana.



              The development of the project was driven by a critique of traditional food distribution centres : that although the huge scale of modern food distribution centres may expertly exploit economies of scale, they do so without taking into account the potential diseconomies of scale that are associated with a level of production beyond the optimum output level.



               The proposed architectural solution, was a series of buildings which allow sufficient separation of the different entities to maximise efficiencies and minimise diseconomies of scale. On the ground floor, the warehousing centre is divided into 4 separate units (for dry, chilled, groceries and fmc goods). The separation allows each environment to be fully tailored to the goods it distributes. A centralised hub brings all the groups together, and distributes a combination of goods to the delivery trucks in the loading bay. On the second level, a series of permanent farmer’s market buildings are arranged, their goods complementing the  goods of each warehouse unit below. The third level contains administrative offices. Points of intersection and interraction are established to encourage a synergistic relationship between all the different entities. The result is a building which benefits from economies of scale, whilst still exploiting the  benefits of smaller-scale operation.