Earth + RISD collaboration 2007-2014 by Frank Hammond

EARTH + RISD, 2007-2014 An Illustrated Introduction

Prologue This document is an illustrated introduction and an annotated summary of the seven year collaboration between Escuela de Agricultura de la Regi贸n Tropical H煤meda (EARTH) University and the Rhode Island School of Design. It is one of three documents compiled over 2015: (1) this summary of the areas inquiry, (2) an assessment of the relationship for the two institutions and (3) a more detailed description of the design-build project that was the focus between 2011 and 2014. The relationship between EARTH and RISD is a model of a long-term, studiobased partnership. This long-term project has permitted faculty at RISD to explore sustainability, social innovation and stewardship in place through an investigation of specific topics and opportunities faced by EARTH University as it sought to develop the land, programs and rationale for its campus at La Flor. This document collects notable student work launched by those topics, summarizes how studio-based research expanded those topics into broader questions, and reflects on the enduring themes of place-based stewardship. Colgate Searle, Professor of Landscape Architecture Charlie Cannon, Associate Professor of Industrial Design with Frank Hammond, MLA 2013 November 2015

Table of Contents Prologue Introduction Background Topics of Investigation Landscape and Planning Agricultural and Material Waste Digital Technology Green Building Enduring Themes From Sustainability to Stewardship The Importance of Place Concluding Remarks

Introduction EARTH University and RISD entered into a collaborative relationship in the Fall of 2008. The relationship was launched with Academic Enrichment Funding at RISD that supported two studios, one in Architecture, and an interdisciplinary studio (the Innovation Studio) co-hosted by the Departments of Landscape Architecture and Industrial Design. These studios drew students from Industrial Design, Landscape Architecture and Architecture.1 In the following year, Charlotte Metcalf established The Fund for Sustainable Education (the Fund) with a $100,000 contribution to RISD. She ultimately contributed $120,000 to support continued collaboration through 2014. The Fund provided resources to support studios including research monies, travel assistance, and occasional teaching support. The Fund was administered by Colgate Searle and Charlie Cannon with oversight from Department Heads in Landscape Architecture, Industrial Design and the Dean of the Division of Architecture and Design. Between 2009 and 2014, an advanced design studio or Winter Session travel course was run each year. The focus of each yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s course was developed by Carlos Murillo Martinez, Director of EARTH University La Flor campus, with input from Professor of Landscape Architecture Colgate Searle and Associate Professor of Industrial Design Charlie Cannon. During the first few years of the relationship, projects were organized around topic areas, including: ubiquitous computing, urban systems, social entrepreneurship, agriculture and urban waste. A rotating cast of RISD faculty members, including Enrique Martinez, Nick Scappaticci, and Elizabeth Dean Hermann led studios from 2008 to 2011. In 2011, Carlos asked RISD to design and build a model, one-room school house for Costa Rica. From that time on, three faculty (Colgate Searle, Charlie Cannon, and Design Critic Patricia Gruits) devoted their attention to this project guiding it through an Innovation Studio, summer research trips, and successive Winter Session travel courses to build the school house.

1. Academic Enrichment Funds support interdisciplinary teaching and learning that fall outside the normal degree program curricula and promote exchange and interaction between faculty members and students in different departments and divisions. These courses are intended to advance curricular development in crossover areas and develop new areas of faculty expertise. At the same time, these courses often afford students access to a broader range of learning opportunities, including opportunities for interdisciplinary, collaborative, or engaged work.

Background EARTH University (the Escuela de Agricultura de la Region Tropical Humeda) is an international, private non-profit University located in Costa Rica dedicated to the agricultural sciences and natural resource management. The University’s mission is to prepare leaders in sustainable agriculture for the world’s tropics. In the Fall of 2007, representatives of Earth University visited the Rhode Island School of Design to share their plan for developing a new campus on the site of former president Daniel Oduber’s 3700 acre farm in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The site offered a base of operations for EARTH in the dry tropics – thereby expanding the draw and reach of its agricultural research and education. Drawn by the promise of a relationship with EARTH – A relationship that would permit a deeper understanding of the social justice, environmental, and sustainability issues in the tropics – RISD committed to running several studios to explore how to collaborate with EARTH.1 If faculty at RISD approached the partnership with EARTH to embark on a long-term exploration of sustainability, social justice and stewardship in a single place, EARTH saw the opportunity to explore what design and design thinking could bring to the development of the program and the property at La Flor. These parallel lines of inquiry have been explored through a series of research studios through the Departments of Landscape Architecture, Industrial Design and Architecture between 2008 and 2014. While each studio has responded to the immediate issues faced by the Director of the La Flor campus, they have each also been guided by EARTH University’s Vision, Mission and Value Statements.2 2. Opportunities identified in a trip during the summer of 2008 funded by the Office of Academic Affairs, the Department of Landscape Architecture, the Department of History, Psychology and Social Sciences, and the Office of International Programs. The RISD team included: Colgate Searle, Professor and Head, Department of Landscape Architecture; Larry Carney, Senior Lecturer in Sociology with an emphasis on Central America; Enrique Martinez, adjunct professor in architecture; and Claudia Ford, Director of International Programs. The Academic Enrichment Grant was used to support an Innovation Studio offered through Landscape Architecture and Industrial Design, taught by Charlie Cannon; an Advanced Architecture elective studio taught by Enrique Martinez and Larry Carney offered seats in his Latin America class to students participating in the studios.

3. EARTH University’s Vision Our actions focus on achieving a future with social, economic and environmental well being for the tropics and their communities. EARTH University’s Mission To educate leaders with ethical values, willing to contribute to the sustainable development of the tropics and to the construction of a more just and prosperous society. EARTH University’s Values Develop the whole human being Ethical behavior Seeking new knowledge Biodiversity conservation Academic Excellence Social Conscience Sustainable development

In all, the RISD-EARTH studios explored four major topics over the seven years: Landscape and Planning, Green building, The application of Digital Technologies, and Waste. Through these topical explorations, nearly one hundred fifty RISD students, five faculty members and three departments have contributed an understanding of sustainability that emphasizes the stewardship of environmental resources as a necessarily cultural and geographically specific practice (A definition that is uniquely grounded in Landscape Architecture). In each successive studio, students and faculty have continued to refine models for interdisciplinary collaboration that enable the students to address the unique challenges faced by tropical farmers and researchers and allow them to work with each other. At RISD, the green building research took place over three studios (two preceeding the focus on the school house), a research trip and several wintersession courses has led to the development of a curricular model that engages graduate students in graduate and undergraduate longer term research agendas. The model uses graduate teams doing field research that supports collaborative studio proposals and development back at RISD. This document introduces the major works and findings of the seven year collaboration between Carlos Murillo Martinez at EARTH University and faculty at RISD.

TOPICS OF INVESTIGATION

Each of the major topics investigated over the past seven years were originally outlined in the first studios run in Fall 2008, and then further explored as the specific focus of investigation in successive studios. The brief project summaries that follow share the major insights gathered from across those studios.

The Guanacaste Region of Costa Rica - The location of Earth La Flor campus.

Landscape and Planning The La Flor property offers a unique opportunity – both in Costa Rica and globally – to demonstrate how sustainable land management practices can integrate private developments, sustainable agriculture and biodiversity. Researchers at EARTH and RISD recognized early on that for the La Flor campus to realize its potential required a comprehensive understanding of the entire property. To inform that understanding, the first Innovation Studio offered a number of different landscape strategies as guides for the overall development of the property. Enrique Martinez’s architecture studio examined the possibility of an international green convention center to draw people and revenue to La Flor. In 2010, the Urban Systems Studio, taught by professor of Landscape Architecture Lili Hermann, identified different campus planning strategies and explored the spatial implications of those strategies if the campus was to become a global center of sustainable agriculture. Large scale planning questions explored by the Urban Systems Studio (2010) included new systems to improve organic agricultural production and high density urban development across the property. More aggressive proposals included converting the majority of the property into a carbon sink that would use the payments for carbon credits to secure the land and help pay for onsite educational programs. Counter proposals suggested that the property should be developed as a more high density urban site that would model new and innovative development techniques. All of the studios sought to assure that new development would enhance, rather than imperil, Earth’s mission at La Flor, building both immediate and cumulative benefits. Proposals ranged from the immediate challenges of turning the once derelict property into a fully functioning farm and research station, to long term forecasting for the development of the property. Some of the planning recommendations, such as using the historic compound to anchor the new academic campus (to build on existing infrastructure, use the hacienda as a destination, and limit initial investment) or the siting of a new federal road have already been put into practice; while others have been used to stimulate conversations about the long-term future of the site.

Earth La Flor campus.

MASTER PLAN: Preserve the Land

Conservation Land Trust

A comprehsensive plan for the La Flor campus ought to be developed under the auspices of A comprehensive the La ought be developed underspaces, the a Land Trust that define plan whatforareas ofFlor the camus property aretodedicated to open working auspices of a Land Trust that can define what areas of the property are dedilands, and a community center.

Conservation Land Trust cated to open spaces, working lands and a community center. A comprehsensive plan for the La Flor campus ought to be developed under the auspices of a Land Trust that define what areas of the property are dedicated to open spaces, working Land trusts establish enforcible guidelines for development lands, and a community center.

and conservation. At La Flor, Earth University could codify its commitment to sustainable and innovative land practices Katy Foley through a conservation agricultural land trust. Groups partnering with Earth – be they private04 03 Land trusts establish enforcible guidelines for development and conservation. At La Flor, Earth University could codify itssmall commitment sustainable and innovative land practices organization, donors and the federal govdevelopers, scaleto farmers, non-governmental Land Use Benefits of Small Sca through a conservation agricultural land trust. Groups partnering with Earth – be they private Land use patterns are outlined in the digrams above. Small scale plots create ernment – would share a clear understanding of Earth’s goals and of the tools at their disposal developers, small scale farmers, non-governmental organization, donors and the federal govFertile agricultural lands (01) need to be balanced with the Landtrust (above left) conservation lands to proteect (02) water ways, and acand safety of adjacent lan ernment – would a clearthose understanding of Earth’s goals and of the tools at their disposal toshare realize goals. cess to water. Remaining lands could be divided to maxito realize those goals.

mize large tracts for cultivation by Earth University (03) and smaller plots to be distributed through the landtrust (06).

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Katie Foley LDAR

Land Use

Land use patterns are outlined in the digrams above. Fertile agricultural lands (01) need to be balanced with conservation lands to proteect (02) water ways, and access to water. Remaining lands could be divided to maximize large tracts for cultivation by Earth University (03) and smaller plots to be distributed through the landtrust (06).

Benefits of Small Scale Farming

Small scale plots create public spaces for members of the Landtrust (above left), and help maintain the security and safety of adjacent lands (below).

How could EARTH invite neighboring residents to practice sustainable agriculture and conservation through the use of their property and programs? 03

Jessica Roundy LDAR

01 01

Managing Water

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The La Flor campus is subject to extreme flooding. Designing dams and catch basins would limit soil erosion, and damage to bridges, while creating a resource for dry seasons and op02 portunities for aquaculture or hydroponic production. Water Strategies 01. Constructed lagoons could be used for aquaculture and aquaponics research (image Katie Foley).

Managing Water

The Guanacaste region of Costa Rica experiences six months of dramatic rainfall. Unman02. Water controls could be located at the junctions aged flooding damages bridges, and limits access to the academic campus. By diverting and of different waterways as identified above (in red). holdingThe water during the rainy season, damage could limiteddams and the La FLor campus is subject to exreme flooding. be Designing and water catch could be pre03. The flood map at left identifies which areas at La Flor served basins as a resource for soil dry erosion season and when it could be usedooding. to irrigate could limit damage bridges creatingcrops, increase wild life areto most prone to flwhile habitat aand facilitate recreation. resource for dry seasons as well as opportunities for aquaculture and 04. Contained water could also increase recreational hydroponic production. opportunities. 03

Jessica Roundy

25 25

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Water Strategies

ainfall. Unmany diverting and er could be prencrease wild life

01. Constructed lagoons could be used for aquaculture and aquaponics research (image Katie Foley). 02. Water controls could be located at the junctions of different waterways as identified above (in red). 03. The flood map at left identifies which areas at La Flor are most prone to flooding.

04. Contained water could also increase recreational opportunities. 04

How would EARTH design its infrastructural and 25 25 natural systems to model the prudent use of water in Water Strategies 01. Constructed lagoons could be used for aquaculture the dry tropics? and aquaponics research (image Katie Foley).

02. Water controls could be located at the junctions of different waterways as identified above (in red). 03. The flood map at left identifies which areas at La Flor are most prone to flooding.

04. Contained water could also increase recreational opportunities. 04

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Use La Flor for shared, open source research EARTH has long-standing research partnerships with international agronomy schools. La Flor could be offered as an open-source, research station where partners working side-by-side could prototype, test and evaluate competing agriculture technologies to amplify their shared research objectives. Demitrious Staurinos

How can Earth make advancements in academic research and technology more available to local communities?

MASTER PLAN: Community Farming

Farming

t La Flor would help build the fertility of the property; build closer th at La Flor and the surrounding communities; and provide an ainabl agriculture practices with local, small-scale farmers.

Community Plots lands across the La Flor campus will require storage and facilities for 01 tuated djacent to farmlands these structures would private storage to 01. Plots are accessible from the main road d shelter from the sun and the rain. Because of their remote locations, above left. Sites will be selected based on the ill be make electricity, collect water and regenerate wastes. to water, solar exposure, and fertility. Community farmlands at La Flor would help build the fertility of the property; 02. The cross selection illustrates how indi build closer connections between EARTH at La FLor and surrounding move from uplands down to water to assur communities; opportunity sharethe sustainable agriculture Community farmlands atand Laprovide Flor an would help tobuild fertility ofcess theforproperty; irrigation water. build closer techniques with small-scale farmers.

Community Farming

connections between Earth at La Flor and the surrounding communities; and provide an opportunity to share sustainabl agriculture practices with local, small-scale farmers. Ben Peterson

Shared use of agricultural lands across the La Flor campus will require storage and facilities for each collection of plots. Situated djacent to farmlands these structures would private storage to farmers as well as a shared shelter from the sun and the rain. Because of their remote locations, each of these structures will be make electricity, collect water and regenerate wastes.

Ben Peterson ARCH

ser an

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Community Plots

Community Shelters

01. Plots are accessible from the main roads as shown above left. Sites will be selected based on their proximity to water, solar exposure, and fertility.

03 Each area would have simple structure to shelter farmers, protect their tools and provide necessary support â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a latrine, water collection and electricity.

02. The cross selection illustrates how individual plots move from uplands down to water to assure direct access for irrigation water.

04. Each farmer will have a lockable storage and work space, and the group will share a public table under the shelter of the roof.

How could community-based agriculture inform new practices of community engagement across EARTHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campuses? 41 25

Agricultural and Material Wastes EARTH’s focus on sustainable agriculture has inspired students in Landscape Architecture and Industrial Design to explore important questions about agricultural production and the waste from those processes over successive studios. Students in the first Innovation Studio focused on farm-based solutions specific to La Flor. Patricia Gruit’s Design for Social Entrepreneurship Studio (2011) explored how agricultural wastes could be repurposed to make new products for the University and small scale. Colgate Searle’s Wintersession Studio (2012) explored how EARTH’s La Flor campus might address larger regional waste challenges.

OPPORTUNITIES:Sugarcane Harvesting

arvestill help

A Sugarcane Industrial Ecology 01. The diagram at left outlines the system of sugarcane production, harvesting and processing. The top and the bottom of the diagram illustrate how field waste could be reused as raw material for animal feed and fuel.

Redesigning the Harvester 02. Conventional cane harvesting machinery - the truck pulls a trailer that collects the harvested cane.

Transform Sugarcane Harvesting

03. Cross section of the harvester.

Transform Sugarcane Harvesting Transform Sugarcane Harvesting

nificant ads that hat can

04. A new attachement would cut and collect the heads

Sugarcane is a rich source material for sugar and ethanol production. Redesigning harvestof the cane. ing machinery to run on ethanol and to harvest the05.protein-rich heads the of cane the iscane will help techniques cut and stripped Sugarcane is a rich source material fro sugarUsing andcurrent ethanol production. Redeof its leaves by a worm-drive. make sugarcane a more valuable resource for La Flor. signing harvesting to run ethanl and to harvest theRedesigning protein-richharvestSugarcane is a rich machinery source material for on sugar and ethanol production. 06. While the cane is being turned in the worm drive, heads (tassels) of the cane will help make sugarcane a more valuable resource ing machinery to run on ethanol and to harvest the leaves protein-rich heads of the cane stripped are vaccum collected to be usedwill as ahelp for La Flor raw material for ethanol production where it is added to make sugarcane a more valuable resource for La Flor. Current methods for harvesting sugarcane are energy intensive, costly, and emit significant

ower al used to

the begass.

amounts of carbon. In addiiton, many useful parts of the cane (like the protein-rich heads that could be fed to animals) are left in the field. Redesigning the harvester to collect waste that can Current methods for harvesting sugarcane are energy intensive, costly, andMike emit Eng significant be used for animal feed or ethanol maximizes 05 them as useful byproducts. 06

amounts of carbon. In addiiton, many useful parts of the cane (like the protein-rich heads that could be fed to animals) are left in the field. Redesigning the harvester to collect waste that can Ethanol production is commonplace in as Brazil, it is used to power al be used for from animalsugarcane feed or ethanol maximizes them usefulwhere byproducts.

manner of vehicles. In this design proposal the ethanol made from field waste would be used to power the Ethanol sugarcane harvester. production from sugarcane is commonplace in Brazil, where it is used to power al manner of vehicles. In this design proposal the ethanol made from field waste would be used to power the sugarcane harvester. 03

04 03

37 25

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Redesigning the Harvester 02. Conventional cane harvesting machinery - the truck pulls a trailer that collects the harvested cane. 03. Cross section of the harvester. 04. A new attachement would cut and collect the heads of the cane. 05. Using current techniques the cane is cut and stripped of its leaves by a worm-drive.

al to

06. While the cane is being turned in the worm drive, stripped leaves are vaccum collected to be used as a raw material for ethanol production where it is added to the begass.

Could aâ&#x20AC;&#x153;tassles to taprootâ&#x20AC;? approach to harvesting expand EARTHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s definition of sustainable agriculture?

37 25 27

Expand Animal Husbandry The agriculture operations at La Flor are founded on a sustainable management plan. Expanding animal husbandry and milk production as part of that plan would facilitate the increase of biogas production for electricity and contribute a new revenue stream for the campus. Nate French

Can dairy systems be designed to provide shade and shelter; to efficiently use and reuse water; and to enable the collection of animal waste for enriching compost and producing electricity to support dairy farms?

Use Waste for Saleable Products In rural agricultural communities, wastes are rarely a source of revenue for small farmers. Using simple technologies, stalk-wastes can be pressed to make simple footwear for both local use and for an international market.

Robert Dodd

Can EARTH prototype new products that could provide new revenue streams for small-scale farmers?

Move farmers beyond food production Providing shade and cooling for urban residents of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tropics is not always easy. Growing epiphytes to be used as a biological shade structures provides both shade, evaporative cooling and beautification.

Justin Henry

Can EARTH develop new plant-based systems that could provide new revenue streams for small-scale farmers?

Piggyback Infrastructure Recycling and waste collection systems arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t effective in the rural areas of Costa Rica. Piggybacking on existing systems, like tourist buses, could create a more effective recyclable collection and transport system throughout the region. Cathy Jin & Angela Choi

What tactical solutions could EARTH propose to address regional challenges in Costa Rica?

Water management at Rancho Margot (Image: Frank Hammond)

Use rural knowledge in new settlements Many barrio residents moved from rural settlements to be closer to stronger economies. However, the dense, informal settlements rarely allow them to use the rural skills they arrive with. Constructing greywater and composting systems for adjoining neighbors would help them create the soil and save the water they would need to grow their own food. Beth Soucy & Caitlin Wilson

Could EARTH pilot large scale composting and gray water systems that support new housing settlements?

Digital Technology Costa Rica enjoys some of the highest internet literacy and connectivity in the region. An early infrastructure investment at La Flor brought internet capability to campus. Several students in the first Innovation Studio explored how to leverage that connectivity to engage tourists and visitors and to find new ways to support field-based agricultural research. This proposal became the basis of a research proposal entitled Mobile Earth that sought funding to increase the access to agriculture data from La Flor for the University and its research partners in the United States. During this time, the Industrial Design Department sponsored a studio to explore how enhanced connectivity could enable more seamless learning experiences between the campus at La Flor and the campus at Guanacaste.

Mobile Earth An Ongoing Design Project that Explores Potential Applications for Mobile Technology In Ecological Research and Tourism

Sponsored by the Rhode Island School of Design and Earth University, La Flor

Google Science Advances in technology have turned cellular telephones into powerful and affordable computer platforms. The operating system of the new Android phone supports softwares that enable cooperation and collaboration amongst many users. At Earth these phones could be used to advance detailed data collection in the field. Quisque facilisis erat a dui. Nam malesuada ornare dolor. Cras gravida, diam sit amet rhoncus Science ornare, eratGoogle elit consectetuer erat, id egestas pede nibh eget odio. Proin tincidunt, velit vel porta elementum,Advances magna in diam molestie sapien, aliquet massa into pede eu diam. technology have turnednon cellular telephones powerful andAliquam iaculis. Fusce et ipsum et nulla tristique facilisis.The operating system of the new Android affrodable computer platforms. Advances in phone technology have turned cellular telephones into powerful and affordable comsupports softwares that enable cooperation and collaboration amongst puter platforms. operating system ofcould the new Android supports softwares users. At ligula EARTH these phones be used to advanced data Donec egetmany semThe sit amet viverra gravida. Etiam vehicula urna phone veldetailed turpis. Suspendisse sag- that in the fields. ittis ante a collection urna. Morbi acollaboration est quis orci consequat egestas feugiat Integer enable cooperation and amongstrutrum. many Nullam users. At Earth thesefelis. phones could be

Google Science

used to advance detailed data collection in the field. Castilla & Caroline Spinney Stephanie Quisque facilisis erat a dui. Nam malesuada ornare dolor. Cras gravida, diam sit amet rhoncus ornare, erat elit consectetuer erat, id egestas pede nibh eget odio. Proin tincidunt, velit vel porta elementum, magna diam molestie sapien, non aliquet massa pede eu diam. Aliquam iaculis. Fusce et ipsum et nulla tristique facilisis. Donec eget sem sit amet ligula viverra gravida. Etiam vehicula urna vel turpis. Suspendisse sagittis ante a urna. Morbi a est quis orci consequat rutrum. Nullam egestas feugiat felis. Integer

24 54 40

Organic Sara Mango Cultivation Gonzale Pablo Cabrer Julia Mendez

Sara Gonzale Pablo Cabrer Julia Mendez

Field Station Deployment

The Hydrogen System

01. The field station comes with self leveling feet so that it can be installed on uneven terrain.

04. Algae grown in tubes installed on the roof of the unit produce hydrogen during their growing cycle. The released hydrogen is stored a ballon before being compressed placed System into the fuel cel. The fuel cels are The and Hydrogen used04.toAlgae power the communication grown instationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tubes installed on the roof system, of the computers and motorbike. unit produce hydrogen during their growing cycle. The

Could EARTH demonstrate how to marry citizen 02. The hydrogen balloon increases the visibility of the science with inexpensive, field-based technologies Field Station Deployment station regardless of where it is located. 01. The field station comes with self leveling feet so that accelerate it can beto installed on uneven terrain. the adoption of those techniques 03. The units are smaller than a shipping container. Alreleased hydrogen is stored a ballon before being comlowing them beacross easily moved from location loca-of the the tropics? 02.toThe hydrogen balloon increases the to visibility pressed and placed into the fuel cel. The fuel cels are tion.

station regardless of where it is located.

03. The units are smaller than a shipping container. Allowing them to be easily moved from location to location.

used to power the stationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s communication system, computers and motorbike.

55 25

EDUCATION: Mobile Field Station Sun

Solar Rays

Mobile Field Station

Field research is one avenue to realize Earth’s mission on community development and outreach through research. A mobile eldrealize stationEARTH’s would permit students from Earth University research is one avenuefito mission of community Field StationField Deployment The Hydrogen System to engage in long-term research projects throughout the world. development A mobile field station would 01. The field station comes withand self outreach leveling feetthough so that research. 04. Algae grown in tubes installed on the roof of the permit students from EARTH University to engage long-term research it can be installed on uneven terrain. unit produceinhydrogen during their growing cycle. The projects throughout the world. released hydrogen is stored a ballon before being comThe mobile field stationthe is avisibility self-suffi cient laboratory. The lab comes equiped with standard 02. The hydrogen balloon increases of the pressed and placed into the fuel cel. The fuel cels are fi eld tools and testing equipment. The field stations are powered by hydrogen fuel cels. The station regardless of where it is located. used to power the station’s communication system, hydrogen, released by growing algae, is temporarily stored in a balloon branded the Earth Brianwith Chou computers and motorbike. logo before being transfered into the cels. The greater mobility allowed by this system allows it 03. The units are smaller than a shipping container. Alto be used in more remote areas, or any where off the grid. lowing them to be easily moved from location to location.

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Field Station Deployment

The Hydrogen System

01. The field station comes with self leveling feet so that it can be installed on uneven terrain.

04. Algae grown in tubes installed on the roof of the unit produce hydrogen during their growing cycle. The released hydrogen is stored a ballon before being compressed and placed into the fuel cel. The fuel cels are used to power the stationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s communication system, computers and motorbike.

02. The hydrogen balloon increases the visibility of the station regardless of where it is located. 03. The units are smaller than a shipping container. Allowing them to be easily moved from location to location.

Could EARTH demonstrate how to put the scientific tools of their international partners to work at a smaller scale? 53 25

24 56 5 64

Education & IT: Google Phone for Tourism Google Tourism Providing visitors to the EARTH campus at La Flor a platform to guide their visits and photograph or video their impressions will do two things for EARTH. The first, build an international constituency of supporters. The second, engage visitors in the collection of more data about La Flor for ongoing research. Caroline Spinney

oogle Phone for Tourism

Carolyn Spinney ID

How can EARTH share its work more widely to build international support for its efforts?

Green Building The development of a new campus at La Flor always promised a new building campaign. Whether those buildings were intended for new industrial research parks, for housing, for classrooms for EARTH students, or for visitors to the campus, it was expected that new buildings would be green. Initial research into green building at the La Flor campus was the subject of study in the first Innovation Studio and the Advanced Architecture Studio in Fall of 2008. From Prototype to Demonstration Building In 2011, Carlos Murillo asked RISD to consider the design of an affordable, replicable and sustainable one room school house for Costa Rica. Patricia Gruits led a research team to Costa Rica that summer to learn more about grade school design and grade school curricula in Costa Rica. From this base, the Innovation Studio that Fall (2012) developed several complete proposals â&#x20AC;&#x201C; one of which was selected for further development. Over the course of the next two years, students in Colgate Searleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wintersession studios refined the design as they built a demonstration building at the hacienda at La Flor.

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Inside Outside

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Design Tropical Buildings

Donec eget sem sit amet ligula viverra gravida. Etiam vehicula urna vel turpis. Suspendisse sagQuisque facilisis erat a dui. Nam malesuada ornare dolor. Cras gravida, diam sit amet rhoncus ittis ante a urna. Morbi a est quis orci consequat rutrum. Nullam egestas feugiat felis. Integer ornare, erat An elitâ&#x20AC;&#x153;inside/outsideâ&#x20AC;? consectetuer erat, id egestas pede nibh eget careful odio. Proin tincidunt, velit vel porta approach to building requires attention to shade adipiscing semper ligula. Nunc molestie, nisl sit amet cursus convallis, sapien lectus pretium elementum, magna diam molestie sapien, aliquet ligula. massa eu diam. Aliquam iaculis. plantings; passive ventilation; andnon the semper appropriate scalepede of inside and outside metus, vitae pretium enim w adipiscing Fusce et ipsum et that nullaruns tristique facilisis. rooms counter to contemporary building techniques. This approach has the added benefit of allowing EARTH to test the performance of specific techniques while allowing campus to be02urna built out time. Donec eget sem sit amet ligula viverra gravida.the Etiam vehicula vel over turpis. Suspendisse sagittis ante a urna. Morbi a est quis orci consequat rutrum. Nullam egestas feugiat felis. Integer adipiscing semper ligula. Nunc molestie, nisl sit amet cursus convallis, sapien lectus pretium metus, vitae pretium enim w adipiscing semper ligula. 02

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Agriculture & Farming 01. Suspendisse dolor gn isldfdf ultrices at, eleifend velswdfe, consequat at. Curabitur nulla purus, feugiat, elementum in. Suspendisse isldfdf ultrices at, eleifend, consequat at, dolor erfgaz. 03

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Agriculture & Farming

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Incubate new Settlement Patterns New urban development in Costa Rica often follows suburban patterns of single story, single family homes that make shared services, security and resource use difficult. Dense block housing with shared courtyards creates real opportunities for safe, community-owned spaces and infrastructures. Mickey Rockafellar & Sarah Gould

Can lessons that EARTH has learned on its campuses be brought to larger urban contexts?

Research: Local Schools

Seed Schools EARTHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission to develop and distribute knowledge to benefit the citizens of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tropics could be extended to the creation of simple, replicable, sustainable school buildings. The design, construction and maintenance of the building at La FLor could be a catalyst for a transcontinental network of communities building and sharing knowledge about their schools. Innovation Studio, 2012

MANIFESTO our project ambition A school is not just a building. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a community and a body of knowledge. Our ambition is to create a process of continuous learning through acts of making. It all starts with what we build at EARTH La Flor. Through construction we will MAKE a structure and generate knowledge about sustainable technologies and their integration with ecological, social, and built systems. The design will be flexible enough to ADAPT to changing conditions and be replicated in new contexts. The structure will also function as a teaching tool through the legibility of its parts. It also functions as a habitable space where locals, students, and visitors can gather and LEARN together through hands-on workshops. By creating new opportunities for the exchange of ideas, the school is a platform for community development and a hub in a growing database of affordable sustainability techniques. We will SHARE all our knowledge through this exchange, both on-site and online, in order to build new and affordable schools in new locations

throughout the tropics. Every seed school has the potential to GROW a community of its own and become an equal participant in the exchange of knowledge.

SEED

Could EARTH be a hub for a global highSEED performance, low-tech school movement that fosters SEED local experimentation and global evaluation? EARTH WS

SEED

Starting a Seed School EARTH

SEED

SEED Workshops Cultivate Knowledge EARTH

Knowledge Grows EARTH UNIVERSITY: Our partner and site for the initial seed school. SEED SCHOOL: A structure and its related processes and systems that build and share knowledge WORKSHOP: A hands-on learning event that produces and shares knowledge through making IDEA EXCHANGE: A growing body of knowledge about accessible and sustainable structures and systems

II.

ENDURING THEMES

As noted in the Introduction, for RISD faculty the partnership with EARTH has enabled a long-term exploration of sustainability, social justice and stewardship in a place. We might characterize these questions of sustainability, stewardship and place as enduring themes that have informed and been elucidated by each of the individual studio investigations.

From Sustainability to Stewardship Each semester, students have been asked to develop a working definition of sustainability that was applicable at EARTH and was informed by their experiences there. Early on this assignment helped to reveal how different definitions of sustainability might yield different results. Over subsequent studios, students sought their own definitions of sustainability including: Sustainability is system resiliency within a symbiotic network, in which the outputs of one process become the inputs of another. The continually changing environments and ecologies affect the earth, causing extreme reactions for adaptation and survival. As a result, there is an everlasting relationship between the social, environmental and economical balances in the world. One must recognize the equal importance of all three and the areas within, to endure such fluctuating occurrences. It is critical for the development of strategies that maintain smooth transitions from the past to the present; and, major awareness for future steps to be taken. Sustainability is maintaining the core foundations that initially made up the earth; this requires proceeding with simplest and most resourceful solutions for a healthy ecosystem and environment. A system either open or closed that acts in symbiosis with its environment. It should be both giving and receiving in the system in which it functions. It can be either synthetic or biological as long as it operates within the perimeters of its context and does not overpower another component within the system. Sustainability is to maintain ecological balance by utilizing natural resources with consideration. The earth has limited amount of resources, which means that cycle is important in order to maintain what is available. Understanding of local weather, material and geology is important in order to create a system that brings harmony between nature and man. Sustainability is a worldview. One that emphasizes balance and harmony within its environment, avoiding extremes. It works with its limits and forces instead of against them; able to adapt to a constantly changing environment. This view is holistic, considering the entire system that it is a part of, rather than on individual parts. It strives to be a closed cycle that produces zero waste, inspired by natural processes, restoring back to what it took from; taking only what is needed. It is a worldview that places importance on education to extend its philosophy.

The reaction of Humanity towards the understanding of the negative effects that came with the first introduction of technology. Humanity progressed, separating itself from nature and animals to the point where visible negative aspects can be seen and understood as Humanityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s responsibility. Sustainability is the awareness of system codependence and a strive for Balance and Equality to combat consumerism and restore homeostasis. Sustainability is the human response where adverse effects to the production method have proven harmful to the environment. Balance and order were maintained prior to the modern era but sustainability is a term post the introduction of technology. Natural Environmental Balance is the pre-existing codependence of systems without the negatives from human production. Sustainability is a concept of maintaining the balance between human production, human waste, and the environment. It is based from the concept of energy neither being created or destroyed and only changed. Sustainability is the concept that keeps the consumerism ideology in check. Sustainability is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the responseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to previous production misconceptions and is only now coming to the foreground of the production system after noticing the vast amount of waste we produce and how it sits in landfills and takes up space we may need in the future. 58

More recently, we see students creating more nuanced definitions of sustainability – ones that recognize both the evidence of the human hand as well as the responsibility of that hand in creating local, culturally specific, social systems to preserve and support local ecosystems. This shift from sustainability to stewardship is perhaps best represented in our students changing responses to their visits to the Ostional Wildlife Refuge. Each year, students visit Playa Ostional, a small town a few feet from the Pacific Ocean that has become famous for the thousands of sea turtles that come to lay their eggs on the beach by the town. Adjacent to Playa Ostional is the Ostional Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge was founded in 1987 to study and sustain three species of sea turtles that lay their eggs there. The agreement to establish the Refuge depended on grandfathering the historic practice of turtle egg harvesting for human consumption. Villages along the Playa are granted the right to take turtle eggs, as directed by the Refuge, several times each season.1 Over time, the community collaborating with the Refuge have come to see themselves (and to behave) as stewards of the turtles. Residents clean the beaches, assist in data collection and beach closures. One result of this symbiotic relationship between the Refuge and the surrounding villages is a significant decrease in poaching. During successive visits to the Refuge, we have seen students react very differently to the triangular relationship between the sea turtles, the Ostional Wildlife Refuge and the surrounding villages. For example, in 2013, one group of students were appalled by the egg harvesting and dismissed the efforts of the Refuge. I didn’t appreciate the trip to Ostional. I didn’t know exactly what it was beforehand and was appalled at what is happening there. I understand it’s tradition and they ‘regulate’ it, but that doesn’t make it ok with me. We weren’t offered any indisputable truth that this program doesn’t harm the turtle populations. The studies they offered up seemed flawed and they were exploiting the tourism only to drive their economy of harvesting turtle eggs. I’m mad that I paid for that. But for most students, exposure to the challenge of local stewardship and sustainability solutions was important and useful. For example: It definitely complicated my understanding of sustainability – not that I ever thought it was simple to begin with.

Specifically, villagers are allowed to harvest eggs during set 24 hour periods in designated areas. All harvested eggs are counted, numbered and stamped before being eaten or sold. This has permitted these very poor communities to benefit directly from the sale of sea turtle eggs, and to see how their communities benefit from the eco-tourists that the sea turtles draw.

Or more articulately: Every project is different and requires a clear understanding of context in order to find viable and appropriate solutions to design challenges. Realising that particular problems have already been solved in other projects is important, and we need to learn from these examples. But simply applying these learnings to the next project becomes a problem; especially when there are often superior solutions which tie into the specific location, culture, climate, etc. of the site. Or as one student said: the success of sustainable policies depends on the local community. Sustainability is a local pursuit.

Image courtesy of Flickr creative commons

The Importance of Place We believe the experience of meeting the villagers in Ostional, of witnessing the privations they face, and of confronting the student’s own privilege is an essential component of their deep evaluation of their own beliefs of sustainability and stewardship. Similarly, we believe that these same experiences play a functional role in preparing them to imagine more relevant approaches to the kinds of situations that Earth University asked RISD to help them address. We would frequently hear from students interested in human-centered designs (a fundamental orientation in Industrial Design) or in creating plausible landscape proposals, who would refer to the necessity of their time in Costa Rica. But rather than relying on faulty memories, we sought anecdotal evidence for the impact of their experiences in the field on student projects and longer term student development through a survey shared with alumni of the various studios.1 It is not always easy to untangle what the source of the larger learning and lessons were for students, as so much seems to hinge on their experience in place. Consider this students’ description of what they learned: Learned to work with timber frame construction and help manage a group of workers on-site. I learned that I need to be more tolerant of people who are difficult to work with [meaning some of the other classmates]. Some Spanish, some agricultural techniques, and the basics of how to implement various sustainable building practices within that climate. Colgate’s knowledge of the climate, landscape expertise, and local building practices was very useful for the project as well as having a greater understanding of why things are constructed the way they are there. It’s a given in Landscape Architecture and Architecture education that student proposals are enhanced when their book learning and project research is confronted with the messier realities on the ground. One of the premises of the Innovation Studio is that interdisciplinary collaboration is improved when students work with potential stakeholders and experts outside of the studio environment – preferably in situ. I was not able to understand EARTH and to what extent their resources could be used for my project until I visited. It was a chance to use my empirical and sensory faculties to better understand the climate. It helped to see what a daily experience at EARTH was like – to see students traveling to and from class buildings – to see how the agriculture is maintained – to see that care is taken for the grounds to attract visitors – all of this develops the user profile infinitely for a designer. Delving deep enough into the situation to discover more parameters and solidify truths, and subsequently discover a best fit design. Projects finally found their grounding or validation after the visit – others needed revision. But in either case, our designs for the client became more appropriate and more specific. 62

1 For a copy of the survey see the appendix of this report.

Students all described the value of these immersive experiences. Even as they were not always

able to quantify or qualify what they were getting out of them.

I learned that such visits should have greater structure to support the work we’re doing in the studio. It was fun, but not as insightful as I had hoped. We did a lot of traveling and community outreach work that didn’t relate to the coursework directly. For many students their experiences in Costa Rica functioned as a kind of trigger experience. In the words of one student: At the time of the trip I wasn’t sure what product I would propose to make with my material. After visiting, I realized EARTH values both circular and cascading impact- one thing benefits or helps sustain another – mutual empowerment is a goal. Visiting EARTH encouraged me to think in terms of opportunities because you could see that waste is not only loss, but a chance to be economically and environmentally progressive. I learned to consider design solutions that created value where it previously did not exist, even if the value was in social terms. Trigger experiences, as described by Gibson and Gray (2002) play an essential role in helping students move from abstract and academic understanding to the richer and more complex readings of difficult social and cultural phenomena. Notably, for Gibson and Gray, these trigger experiences need to take place out of the classroom context for them to really take root.1 The student above, described the value of their trigger experience this way: Although we visited EARTH university after we had done the majority of our research and product development, we were able to return to the classroom and make further iterations based on empirical data gathered in Costa Rica. And some students relayed how their local experiences contributed to their development as designers. Yes, I can say that the experience in Costa Rica, had a big impact in my studies. After Costa Rica project I start projects in a different way…..... Always looking [to] help a community. There are also more profound lessons. The introduction to new cultures, and to new situations helped students see and contextualize their own prejudices and presuppositions. While many students framed these lessons in terms of design, reading these two excerpts closely suggests that they are being effected in deeper ways.

1 Gibson and Gray (2002)

I learn that sub-developed countries can teach many things to develop[ed] countries. Good results [happen] when there are interaction[s] between them. Develop[ed] countries [have] the theory and the methods, but Sub-develop[ed] countries have the reality, this reality can bring data to develop[ed] countries to make a better design. The dedication EARTH has to work for a fully carbon neutral campus, provide education and innovation opportunities to youth willing to invest in the environment, and the appreciation of biodiversity and lasting relationships is a lesson that business and sustainability cannot only coexist but be mutually beneficial. That is an important theory to demonstrate in real terms. In Costa Rica I think this model is especially supported because the economic climate requires a majority of people to rely on creative solutions to everyday challenges, and it is advantageous if not necessary to use everything and try to create value where it didn’t exist before. We visited a village in which a viable business that lifted the economic value of the community was a household (hydroponic?) farm. Ironically, this was a place for innovators like us to learn because sustainability by necessity is not common in the US and therefore doesn’t widely exist. It affected my mentality about politics and culture surrounding sustainable practices in the US, exposing that working to be socially-minded and sustainable is not immensely more difficult than doing things the same old way. It made me ask why we aren’t doing things differently and see that there is huge social value to be created in every sector, and it doesn’t take money, it takes dedication.

III.

CLOSING OBSERVATIONS

There are many ways that we might judge what RISD and EARTH have achieved together since 2007. The alumni survey indicates profound learning experiences for students. Colgate Searle found that the insights that he was able to share with students deepened with each successive visit to Costa Rica. And EARTH University now has a low cost, green, schoolhouse onsite in La Flor. From a greater distance we may see the student projects as vivid examples of how design-based research can be used to help identify and reframe fundamental questions and in so doing contribute to outcomes that are even more closely aligned to an organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission. From this vantage point, one essential service that design and design thinking provides is the space to first imagine, and then articulate more audacious goals for projects. At the same time, the student proposals collected here also demonstrate that such audacious goals can be firmly embedded in well thought out and realizable projects. As of this writing, teams at both schools are completing a more objective assessment of the seven years of working together and exploring what kinds of investigations they might pursue that would continue to benefit the students, faculty, and staff of both institutions. We look forward to seeing what comes next. Colgate Searle & Charlie Cannon Providence, Rhode Island Fall 2015

Collaborators Over the last two years, the planning and execution of this relationship with EARTH University at RISD has been accomplished by Professor Colgate Searle from Landscape Architecture, Associate Professor Charlie Cannon from Industrial Design, and Patricia Gruits, Adjunct Professor in Industrial Design, with consultation and study possibilities from Carlos Murillo Martinez, Director of EARTH La Florâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Daniel Oduber Center. The collaboration would not be possible without the support and guidance of Professor Scheri Fultineer, Head of the Department of Landscape Architecture, and Professor Adam Smith, Head of the Department of Industrial Design, as well as the Deans of Architecture and Design and Graduate Studies. Thanks to our donor, Charlotte Metcalf, who made the Fund for Sustainable Education possible. This Fund has made it possible for all the studios to travel to the La Flor campus for design charrettes and research. Approximately 150 students have participated in this EARTH/RISD relationship since 2007, of which 108 spent time at the La Flor campus in Costa Rica, either for a 5-day charrette during fall or spring studios, or a minimum of 3.5 weeks if they participated during Wintersession.

Faculty Participants Charlie Cannon (Industrial Design), Larry Carney (Liberal Arts), Claudia Ford (Liberal Arts), Patricia Gruits (Industrial Design), Lili Herrmann (Landscape Architecture), Enrique Martinez (Architecture), Nick Scappaticci (Industrial Design), Colgate Searle (Landscape Architecture)

Graduate Student Assistants Five Landscape Architecture graduate student assistantships were supported by this project through The Fund for Sustainable Education. Sarah Gould, Michelle Jordan, Frank Hammond, Julie De Jesus, Megan McLaughlin

ÂŠ Rhode Island School of Design 2015