Washington University in St. Louis is sponsoring a sustainable land lab competition where teams are invited to propose innovative projects that would transform vacant lots in the City of St. Louis into sustainable assets. Out of 48 initial submissions, eight have been selected to move forward to the third and final round of the competition, including the Bistro Box. Mackey Mitchell architect and principal John Burse, along with landscape architect Jim Fedderman, and chef/restaurateur Ben Poremba submitted their entry titled “The Bistro Box.” The concept is a small business incubator that transforms surplus cargo containers into a compact restaurant where young chef entrepreneurs apply for a 1-year fellowship residence. The program is designed to hire and train young people from the North St. Louis neighborhood in culinary skills using locally sourced products. Concept boards are on display at the Old North Restoration Group office on 2700 N. 14th Street through the end of February. Congrats to the team for making it to the final round of the competition with this creative and innovative concept.