Geraldine Ondrizek
Studio Art Coursework

Designed and Built by:
Delainey Myers and  Iki Edreva 

1. What is the site? How does the project respond to the site?

Icky and I constructed two vermicompost bins for Zenger Farm. The project is durable but biodegradable and is made from cedar instead of pressure-treated wood, all of which aligns well with Zenger’s environmentally-conscious focus. The bins are sheltered from the cold

by a structure covered in hand-painted tiles, most of which were painted by children from Zenger’s after-school program. The tile project responds to the site in that it aligns with Zenger’s social goals and focus on education as well as beauty.

2. What did your client/users need?

Ebony, our liaison between Reed and Zenger, asked specifically for worm compost bins, cold frames, and chairs and a table for the outdoor classes. We made the compost bins.

3. How did you go about designing for their needs?

We found plans for a bin online and showed her, and she noted that they looked too heavy for one person to pick up on their own. So, we adapted the designs we found to make them work well for Zenger’s specific needs.

4. What materials and forms did you use? Did you consider durability? Ecology?

We used mostly cedar lumber to build the compost bins. We used cedar specifically so that they would last for several years, as cedar is much slower to rot than other types of wood, and non-toxic, as opposed to pressure treated wood. For the clay tiles, we made them by hand at Reed, and the materials we used to attach them were more toxic, but not terrible. They are extremely durable, and will probably outlive the vermicompost bins, but they are also detachable! If Zenger likes the tile boards, they can use them in other places when they outlive the composts.

5. What building methods did you use? Are these new to you?

We used lots of woodshop techniques that were familiar to me. We spent most of our time cutting wood with the chop saw and using drills to pre-drill and drill holes. We also did a lot with clay, which was entirely new to me. We rolled out tiles, fired them, painted them, glazed them, fired them again, attached them to concrete board, and then grouted them. All of that process besides the grouting was new to me.

6. Who will use this and did you ask them about the design?

People who work at Zenger Farm will use these bins, as will kids in classes who learn about the food cycle and worms. Yes, we asked about the functionality of the design, and adapted it to suit their needs.

7. How did your team work together?

Our team worked together very well! Icky and I agreed on all of the parts of the process, and helped one another understand the complicated parts. We always seemed to enjoy different tasks, which made it so that neither of us felt like we were getting saddled with a job that we didn’t want to do.

8. How does this project relate to our bigger city issues and what does it contribute?

Placing vermicompost bins at Zenger Farm relates to so many bigger issues! The worms are very helpful for composting food, which cuts down on waste and improves the crops that Zenger grows. They are also excellent teaching tools for the kids, as Zenger has lots of educational outreaches. Working with Zenger Farm was also very relevant to many city-wide issues, as they focus on helping low-income families learn about the environment and issues of food justice.