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recovery tower
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The seemingly unconquerable cycle of poverty is one of the most distinctive features of the downtown core in Jacksonville, Florida. Through the integration of multifaceted urban housing, spaces designated towards health and wellness, expansive means for growth in employable skills and experience, and the establishment of public spaces that celebrate community gathering and collaboration, this project seeks to address and improve the current urban environment. Centred on the Four Pillars of Recovery from drug abuse and homelessness, Recovery aims to provide those within inner-city Jacksonville with a sense of Home, Health, Purpose, and Community.
On street level, interaction with nature and the elements of the site are given priority as a means of welcoming the users to a space where the community is a central focus. The first two floors contain retail space featuring fresh goods harvested and made on-site. From the third level, Recovery functions as a culinary school that houses classrooms, test kitchens, and a double-height auditorium immediately off of Adams St. to engage the public interest. Urban farming is held from the fifth to the ninth levels and features classrooms for occupants and visitors, and a quadruple-height space for vertical farming on the southern façade that also aids in the diffusion of incident direct sunlight. The tenth floor is dedicated to offices for the health and wellness of the building occupants. Finally the eleventh through the twenty-first floors house single, double, and family residences for both the short and long-term homeless community of downtown Jacksonville.