lik san chan: tempelhof ministry of food

‘tempelhof ministry of food’ by lik san chan all images courtesy lik san chan

set in the site and economical context of berlin, ‘tempelhof ministry of food’ is a proposal by bartlett-graduate lik san chan that looks into the production of organic food in a new infrastructural and social typology. located on the old tempelhof airfield, the project is a joint venture between edeka, germany’s largest food retailer, and the berlin state, seeking to address the city’s current problems with unemployment and social disparity.

fly by render of one of the 19 different ‘modules’

centered around a sense of co-existence and community, the design of the program was influenced by the biblical story of five loaves of barley bread and two fish feeding an assembly of five thousand people. in a similar aspect, the ‘tempelhof ministry of food’ aims to feed the many through self-sustaining measures.

(left) graphic diagram of the biblical miracle of feeding five thousand with five loaves and two fish (right) a kit of five loaves of barley bread and two fish

centered around a sense of co-existance and community, the program recruits the unemployed for a 6 month worker-in-residence position. during this time, bread and products of fish are produced which is both shared amongst the workers as well as distributed to the rest of the city. identity and branding campaigns by edeka will be implemented to increase sales, boost profits, and stimulate the economy.

an image of a berliner reading the local newspaper headline: ‘the new ministry of food needs your supprot’, recruiting 6 month workers-in-residence at the new ministry of food

posters around berlin illustrating the food ministry’s production of top quality organic food and products

detail of poster headline: ‘our backyard is full of organic food’

workers from the modules cycle to the central dining hall where they eat, drink and socialize.

workers finishing a batch of smoked trout paste before heading upstairs to dine for the day

a view of the ‘rising tower’ where loaves of sourdough bread settle and rise workers commute on wooden rafts over the trout pond from station to station