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Carbon Budget Zero Research Studio Students Explore San Francisco

Photo of students on Carbon 0 field trip to San Francisco
Students gather before a tour and talk on the 2025 Carbon Budget Zero Research Studio field trip in San Francisco, California, led by Assistant Professor Sonsoles Vela.
OCTOBER 24, 2025
BY Emily Capdeville

Fall Break Field Trip: Reclaiming the Bay: Architecture as Carbon Sink

Students visit the Round House on Carbon 0 field trip to San Francisco
Students visit the Round House during the studio field excursion.

As part of Tulane School of Architecture and Built Environment’s Carbon Budget Research Studio, students embarked on an experiential field trip during fall break to explore San Francisco’s abandoned landmarks—sites rich with industrial legacy and ecological potential. This trip, meant to enhance the research studio with hands-on experiences, is one of many taking place this fall. Led by Assistant Professor Sonsoles Vela, this studio, Carbon Budget Zero, investigates how architecture can act as both a carbon sink and a cultural amplifier through adaptive reuse strategies that prioritize circular material flows, low-carbon systems, and biogenic content.

students walk around an abandoned site on Carbon 0 field trip to San Francisco
Students explored abandoned sites around the city.

As part of the studio’s coursework, students are developing proposals for architectural interventions at sites including the Geneva Car Barn, Presidio Building 1648, Pier 90 Grain Silo, Bayshore Roundhouse, and several buildings within the Hunters Point Shipyard. At Hunters Point, the group was honored to be guided by Barbara Ockel, President/CEO of Shipyard Trust for the Arts (STAR), whose tireless advocacy is focused on preserving the last refuge for artists in San Francisco and protecting the cultural legacy embedded in these structures.

Students explore Hunter Point, an abandoned site, on the Carbon 0 field trip to San Francisco
Students visiting Hunters Point as part of the field trip.

This research studio bridges ecological ethics with material agency, asking how design can regenerate place while amplifying community narratives and climate stewardship.

students explore an abandoned site on Carbon 0 field trip to San Francisco
The studio prompts students to innovate in order address questions of urban decay and abandonment in sustainable ways.

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