Chris
Pyle Portfolio
FABRICATION (WIP)
I am a fourth year student at the University of Tennessee within their Bachelor of Architecture program.
Currently, I am working as a research assistant with Professor Mark Stanley on researching speculative futures in the Oak Ridge region and am a part of Space and Building Fabrication for the College of Architecture and Design at the university.
My current interests are in urban planning and urban zoning and how to make city’s better for the future through the use of architecture. Programs that have helped me with this have been working with the Civic Design Center during my study abroad in Nashville and using various GIS software to analyze and act. Other interests include the creation of handheld fabrication models and scene building in various render software.
# - (615) 651-1409
Email - chris.pyle74@gmail.com
Instagram - @archpyle
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FARM & TO & MARKET
Conceptual Designs
2023
Partners: Bella Myers (imyers@vols.utk.edu)
Click Here for Full Research Book Spread
Farm & To & Market is a speculative project that examines agriculture, production, supply chains, and marketing within the context of a post-anthropocenic world. It envisions a blurred boundary between farm and city, exploring how architectural, technological, financial, and political interventions can reshape agricultural economies. By presenting speculative landscapes, this research addresses the potential futures of agricultural and market systems in the United States, aiming to foster more reliable and ethical interactions between people and ecologies. The project synthesizes futuristic technologies and processes into a comprehensive field guide, accompanied by visualizations of smaller-scale scenarios within these landscapes.
Mega Indoor Soybean Farm & Hog Hotel
The Mega Indoor Soybean Farm operates as a highly controlled agricultural system, exponentially increasing soybean production through advanced techniques such as 24-hour UV lighting and carbon dioxide concentration. The facility features gaseous bladders above the hydroponic farms, containing water vapor, methane, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. These gases contribute to soil integrity and plant yield, operating seasonally to optimize growth cycles. This controlled environment increases production by 3-5 times, enabling the cultivation of polycultures without the risks of disease or external environmental conditions. Adjacent to the
soybean farm is the Hog Hotel, housing thousands of swine that consume on-site soybean crops. The pigs’ waste powers the farm via anaerobic methane digestion, creating a symbiotic cycle where pigs support soybean growth, and soybeans fuel pig sustenance. This closed-loop system supports multiple production regimes and expands the American diet to include soy as a meat alternative. Research in these spaces explores new soybean varieties and tastes, shaping a speculative future where soy becomes a cornerstone of the food market.
Intelligent Poultry & Migrating Farms
This proposal envisions free-range chickens controlling their own migration patterns across the U.S. landscape, guided by GPS-based invisible fences within a 200-foot radius of their mobile sheds. These communities, each consisting of approximately 10,000 chickens, are supported by intelligent Ag-Tech such as drones, robotic dogs, and track-suspended robots. These technologies maintain population health, deter predators, and manage herding, while blockchain record-keeping tracks chicken behaviors and provides transparency for consumers. In
the Southeastern U.S., where poultry production thrives, automated mobile feeding sheds facilitate chicken migration across vast territories. Aerial drones broadcast video feeds, connecting chickens to consumers. Land and equipment are temporarily owned by external investors, enabling a flexible and predictive farming system. This system exemplifies how automation and mobility can redefine poultry farming on a large scale.
Socialist Slow-Fashion in West Texas
In West Texas, cotton farmers establish a speculative Free State governed by democratic boards that prioritize sustainable practices. Profit-sharing schemes reward crop rotation, water conservation, and shared equipment use, incentivizing ethical farming decisions. Cotton fields dominate the landscape, and hybrid cotton gin and textile manufacturing towers produce fabrics for local slow-fashion brands.
Farmhouses, suspended above the fields on moving gantry systems, host guest designers who contribute to the region’s slow-fashion movement. These high-quality, natural cotton textiles support minimalist capsule wardrobes and oppose the wastefulness of fast fashion. By promoting climate-conscious practices and leveraging cotton’s degradable properties, this model advocates for a sustainable fashion industry rooted in ethical agriculture.