In spring 2009, Rose Fellows Jessy Olson and Ophelia Wilkins also teamed up to enter a design competition for the Classroom of the Future.
As described by Carey in a previous post, the Classroom of the Future competition was hosted by Architecture for Humanity (AFH) through their web-based collaborative forum the Open Architecture Network (OAN). The OAN is an online, open source community dedicated to improving living conditions through innovative and sustainable design. The Open Architecture Challenge is an annual competition to promote the mission of the OAN through a network of grassroots design collaborations around the globe.
Jessy Olson (Woodburn, OR) and Ophelia Wilkins (La Plata County, CO) partnered with the Ignacio School District in Ignacio, CO to design a classroom for their future: a PV Training Classroom and Vocational Campus.
The small rural town of Ignacio, population 669, is at the forefront of a transition from an old to a new energy economy. Currently a national hub of oil and gas production which providing a valuable job base, the Town is also an up-and-coming hub of solar and biofuel production. In an effort to promote green jobs and the dissemination of solar energy skills and awareness, Ignacio High School included the creation of a PV Training Classroom as one of five strategic action items for their future.
Jessy and Ophelia’s design proposes the construction of a mobile-modular PV Training Classroom for high school juniors and seniors. The solar classroom complements an established agricultural curriculum and is located in a neglected zone of the secondary school campus, reinventing it as a vocational campus.
The proposal is comprised of three components:
1. Semi-permanent, grid-tied, net zero energy classroom space, designed to move once or twice in its lifetime to accommodate shifting campus needs.
2. Traveling “PV laboratory” mobile unit – a fully energy-independent resource designed to travel freely between the three school districts in the county.
3. Landscaped campus hub – a central space that unifies the new and old vocational buildings serving both as an icon, as well as a participatory garden, planted and maintained by students in the agricultural program.
Although the design was not a finalist for the AFH competition, the school has committed to building the classroom on the condition that the designers identify and secure grant funding to pay for it. Furthermore, to build clout as a grant applicant, the high school is capitalizing on the concept of the travelling PV laboratory and building a partnership with Southwest Colorado Community College in order to share the proposed facility and curriculum.
For the Open Architecture Networks Classroom Competition, Rose Fellow Carey Clouse teamed up with a group of high school and college students in New Orleans to develop a sustainable classroom design. Using the Priestley School of Architecture and Construction campus as a site, and local modular manufacturer Morgan Buildings as a supplier, the team proposed a modular classroom that would accommodate the needs of shifting post-storm student populations.
The design draws its inspiration from the challenges of a post-Katrina landscape and the temperature extremes of the hot and humid South, yet this structure addresses many of the universal issues that face global communities today, including shifting demographics and landscapes, flexibility and the need for adaptable learning spaces, community development and regional connections, and the exigencies of social, economic and environmental sustainability. The project includes sustainable regional materials, energy efficient systems and construction, and hurricane-resistant construction.
While the project wasn’t selected as a finalist on OAN, Morgan Buildings is currently working with local schools to build the first prototype.
- The Sustainable Classroom Submission
A message from Jim Kelly, Executive Director of Providence Community Housing:
Four years after the greatest national disaster in American history flooded 200,000 homes and scattered a city’s residents to 33 states across the country, we are reminded every day of the tremendous obstacles in front of us as we continue our efforts to rebuild our proud community and bring our people home. As we pause on this day to reflect on the painful memories of our past and the considerable challenges of our future, it is equally important for us to give thanks for the successes over the past four years that have brought us to where we are today, confident of better days ahead.
New mini-park at entrance to Nuevo Amanecer.
Farmworker Housing Development Corporation, with the help of Rose Fellow Jessy Olson, recently completed an extensive rehabilitation of their Nuevo Amanecer farmworker housing community in Woodburn, Oregon. The rehab, which received two Enterprise Green Communities grants, restored the integrity of the failing buildings, increased site drainage and landscaping, and created healthier living conditions for 400 residents who call Nuevo Amanecer their home.
The Rededication Ceremony took place August 30th, and included dedications by former Governor Barbara Roberts, Oregon Housing and Community Services Director Victor Merced, City of Woodburn Mayor Kathy Figley, and FHDC Executive Director Roberto Jimenez, honoring the importance of the historic farmworker housing project.
As a Rose Fellow at FHDC since 2007, Jessy coordinated the Green Communities efforts for the project, and has been acting as Development Project Manager since last spring. She will soon be working on another FHDC rehab project, to improve the construction at Colonia Libertad in Salem.
Former Governer Barbara Roberts, with residents at Rededication ceremony.
Nuevo Amanecer residents enjoying the fun.
Members of project team singing a revised rendition of "La Bamba"