This last Saturday I  photographed the exterior of the 21 Acres Farm located in Woodinville, WA.  I will be returning to photograph the interior at a later time.  

I wanted to photograph at or around sunrise and again the same day at or around sunset and am pleased with the results.  I initially thought it would have been nice to get a shot of the front of the building with all the lights on but on the other hand that might be counter to the message 21 Acres is trying to project, which is sustainable practices and conservation with its Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified main building and the programs that they offer.  The main building was designed by Nancy Henderson and Michelle Rosenberger, of ArchEcology, LLC. Front Elevation Looking South With Sign-

21 Acres is a nonprofit entity that is a combination of a bio-diverse organic farm, farm store, cooking laboratory and commercial kitchen with space for classes and events in support of their mission.  It is a result of the initial quest to find a permanent location for the Woodinville’s Farmer’s Market in 1999.  It took over a decade to locate a suitable site, research and plan the building and overcome obstacles (such as a high water table typical or the entire Sammamish Valley) in order to construct the building to code while staying on their course to implement low environmental impact design.  You can read all the particulars about the building technologies such as a living roof featuring an herb garden, solar voltaic panels, giant air intake ducts utilized to create natural airflow throughout the building, and too many more to mention here.  The building is visually interesting and is constructed in a way to take full advantage of the sun’s path with skylights and solar panels oriented to the South.   This view shows the living roof garden above the kitchen, the solar panels and the large intakes that provide natural air circulation in the building.

Their event space is available for rental with the agreement that the bulk of the food be locally sourced and seasonal.  Food is stored and served on non disposable, reusable ware.  In the kitchen all the dishes, service dishes, and cookware were from second hand sources demonstrating how re-using things cuts down on waste and provides an eclectic-elegant utility.   Back during Night Function© 2014 Robert Inn

21 Acres is a place that combines three great interest of mine; food, shelter and environmental responsibility. 

Get more information at 21acres.org