2026 Nathan Hale Urban Farm Hoop House

The Nathan Hale Horticulture and Urban Farm provides students with hands-on learning opportunities in horticulture, urban agriculture, and plant production. As the program has grown, its existing facilities have become unable to accommodate all of its activities, resulting in improvised growing and storage areas throughout the site. The farm also lacked a formal, accessible entrance from NE 31st Street, requiring some students to take a long detour and creating congestion during the program’s biannual plant sales.

The Neighborhood Design Build Studio was tasked with creating an accessible entrance and providing structure around a newly planted orchard. The project included a gravel path, modular hoop frames, planter benches, flexible growing and gathering areas, and a farmstand and work pavilion. Together, these elements connect the existing farm facilities and create an armature that can support the program’s future growth.

The project team included graduate and undergraduate students who worked together through site visits, design charrettes, models, drawings, and client presentations. Feedback from the horticulture program, community members, and Seattle Public Schools helped refine the project’s scope and establish the farmstand as a central element of the final design.

Students prefabricated the wood and steel components before transporting them to the site for installation. The team constructed the farmstand, modular hoop frames, planter benches, foundations, paths, and flexible growing spaces. During installation, the design was adjusted to respond to overhead power lines, existing vegetation, and changes in site grade. The completed project was handed over to the client during a ribbon-cutting celebration attended by students, families, community members, and project supporters.