Cultivating Circular Cities: The Brixton Agricultural Hub Part 2 Project 2024 Rachel Levy University of Nottingham Nottingham | UK ‘Cultivating Circular Cities’ considers the potential of architecture as a catalyst for sustainable food systems. Whilst the construction industry has given significant attention to energy reduction measures, very little attention has been spared to the transformation of food systems.The growth of towns and cities is inseparable from the food systems that support them - encapsulating agricultural practices, distribution, retail, and waste networks. Therefore, biodiverse cities that support circular food systems could offer solutions for future societies by which resource efficiency, social equity and food chain resilience is embedded within the built environment.The project proposes an agricultural hub in the heart of Brixton, an area rich in food culture. Circular economies are supported by integrated cultivation spaces that grow produce for the community kitchen and local restaurants via vertical gardens, planting bays and roof terraces. The building integrates directly with neighbouring markets – capturing organic waste loops for recirculation via a food hall with refuse points, self-composting WCs, food banks, community composter, and teaching spaces that provide stakeholder education opportunities.These systems work together to embody the Slow Food Movement principles of ‘good’, ‘clean’, and ‘fair’ and catalyse an outwards expansion of a sustainable circular food system across the city. Rachel Levy Tutor(s) Nick Haynes