Two architectural firms have created a revolutionary expandable greenhouse in Guangzhou, China, that transforms into an educational pavilion to promote urban farming and community engagement. The project, titled "Your Greenhouse Is Your Kitchen Is Your Living Room," was designed by Colorado-based Office for Roundtable and Guangzhou's JXY Studio to challenge traditional farming practices through an innovative, participatory spatial model.
Installed at Guangzhou's Fei Arts museum in September 2024, the structure features a distinctive steel A-frame design encased in polycarbonate panels that create an optimal microclimate for growing vegetables and herbs. The greenhouse successfully cultivated potatoes, green peppers, lettuce, bok choy, and various herbs, with carefully positioned gaps between panels providing passive cooling to maintain comfortable conditions in the subtropical environment.
The building's most striking feature is its ability to transform through a sophisticated mechanical system. The polycarbonate cladding can be raised and lowered using tension cables suspended from the frame's apex, allowing the enclosed greenhouse to morph into an open-air pavilion suitable for hosting larger community events and educational programs.
"The boundaries and connections between nature and the artifacts are constantly at play in determining the role of the pavilion," explained architect Leyuan Li of Office for Roundtable. "When enclosed, it serves as a greenhouse, reflecting the change of seasons and the growth of leaves on the translucent exterior; when opened, it transforms into an outdoor living space, encouraging new forms of sharing that conflate everyday activities."
The project evolved from earlier research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, when concerns about food security prompted exploration of alternative, community-based farming solutions. Li secured a grant from Hong Kong's Design Trust to investigate cultural farming practices and small-scale projects that emerged as alternatives to centralized food production during this challenging period.
The lightweight, modular pavilion incorporates sustainable features including metal reservoirs for rainwater collection and metal shelving racks for vegetable cultivation. The designers also created complementary furniture pieces, including polycarbonate folding tables, kitchen counters, and movable growing racks constructed from the same materials as the main structure.
During its four-month installation, the pavilion served multiple functions within the museum's garden, which already contained an urban farm surrounded by high-rise residential buildings. Local volunteers maintained the greenhouse during weekdays, organizing watering schedules and plant care routines. Weekend social gatherings and educational talks addressed topics including food memory, soil contamination, civic farming, and other food-related issues.
The harvested vegetables were primarily used in cooking workshops, while herbs like mint enhanced cocktails during happy hours hosted by Fei Arts. The pavilion's portable growing pots featured an innovative exchange system, allowing participants to take pots home and replace them with newly planted seeds, extending the project's community impact beyond the museum grounds.
"We live in a time when social interactions are increasingly limited due to emerging virtual technologies," Li noted. "To counter this trend, it is essential to offer informal and playful public spaces that encourage people to come together and recognize the value of community. We wanted to develop a project that uses the tools and spaces of farming to promote new forms of togetherness and conviviality."
The project has gained recognition in the design community, earning a shortlisted position in the installation design category of the 2025 Dezeen Awards. Alongside the physical pavilion, the two studios curated an accompanying exhibition showcasing drawings and texts developed during their extensive food-related research, providing additional educational context for visitors.
The innovative greenhouse exemplifies Office for Roundtable's commitment to designing flexible infrastructure projects based on modular elements that can be scaled and adapted to meet specific community requirements. The project demonstrates how architectural innovation can address contemporary challenges while fostering community engagement and environmental awareness in urban settings.
