Associate Professor of Architecture Steven Mankouche was featured in an article on Metromode, titled "AfterHouse: Fighting Blight by Growing a Greenhouse."

Photo taken by David Lewinski Photography. Photo courtesy of Metromode.

AfterHouse is a project spearheaded by Mankouche that aims to transform a burnt-out house in Detroit, near the border of Hamtramck, into an underground greenhouse called a walipini.

Mankouche first learned about walipinis in 2009 and was inspired to research the idea for local implementation. The walipini design is used frequently in mountainous regions of South America, employing the heat of the earth to keep crops at a regulated temperature through hot days and cold nights.

Photo taken by David Lewinski Photography. Photo courtesy of Metromode.

The project received seed money from Taubman College and a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and raised the remainder of the budget through crowdfunding. The goal of this urban greenhouse is to create a practical community resource.