Press Release 01/02/2016

Contact: Kirill Volchinskiy – volchinskiy [at] gmail.com

Hana Lemseffer, Necils Lopez, Kirill Volchinskiy

For immediate release:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1155558207/educational-space-for-flourishing-community-garden

Students design passive, sustainable education center for community garden out of recycled materials

Three students from Cal Poly Pomona’s architecture department have been working for more than a year on a the design of an educational center for the Huerta del Valle Community Garden. A crowdfunding campaign has been launched in order to raise funds for the engineering of the library and cover the construction budget for the kitchen/playhouse structure. The remaining two structures have already been submitted to the city and are in the revision stage; we are expecting construction permits for those in the spring of 2016.

 

Each structure in the educational center exhibits a different set of sustainable strategies, setting a precedent for ecological architecture in the greater LA area both in terms of passive design and building from recycled materials. The two enclosed buildings are passively heated and cooled, without the use of additional energy. The whole complex will have a net-zero carbon footprint. The educational center will be built out of rammed earth, two recycled shipping containers, tires otherwise headed for the landfill, and a large solar array. The construction of the educational center will expand the garden’s mission, creating a vibrant space with a capacity for further community action and analysis.

Radically sustainable architecture is an important asset for environmentalism and resource conservation, as 40% of all energy is consumed by buildings in the US. In this project, however, the story starts from the base: a community garden. What is its importance? Community gardens solve environmental justice issues prevalent in disadvantaged American suburbs. They give people the option of eating organic and sustainably-grown produce, reducing pollution and obesity. This community lives in one of the most polluted areas in California according to CalEnviroscreen data (91761). Low-income families in areas like this rely primarily on fast-food and produce grown with pesticides. Gardens like this help communities increase their self-reliance and boost their health. The community already has numerous educational programs in place, from a literacy program for local kids to ecological awareness programs for adults and youth, but no place to hold these.

Building a permanent, public safe-space for the community to organize and come together inspires them to expand their programs and create more community gardens throughout the industrial wasteland of Los Angeles. People find value in producing and calling something their own. Gardens like this provide people with this opportunity. This reinforces the local economy, and has positive ramifications across a wide range of issues.

Our hope is to set a precedent for other communities and make the dream of a community garden every mile a reality.

The Engineers Without Borders team of UCSD (Ashwin Kannan, Ali Ismail, Jackie First) and Fariborz Tehrani are leading the complementary engineering effort for the kitchen playhouse as well as other engineering requirements.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1155558207/educational-space-for-flourishing-community-garden

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