Thesis Highlights
Sustainability in the Tropics - FCAT Ecuador
What is sustainable design? The Mintz Global Research Studio for undergraduate and graduate architecture students aims to consider this question in the context of the tropical Andes in partnership with FCAT (Fundación para la Conservación de los Andes Tropicales), a non-profit based in Ecuador dedicated to the conservation of tropical biodiversity. Through investigating materiality and building function, community input, and the environmental importance of the region, the studio aims to create a site-specific sustainable design framework and applications as well as offer insight into sustainability in the region. The studio was guided by principles of sustainability and questions of community-engaged design within the context of decolonization. Local materials and new technologies were also explored in adapting construction to the tropics.
Throughout the semester, the class worked closely with FCAT staff and stakeholders, researchers and experts. The class asked the question: How might we design different possibilities addressing FCAT Ecuador’s needs in the present and the desire to grow in the future? Discussions and feedback sessions were held at multiple points during the semester. By midterm, the class developed multiple options under four building types: housing, field station, commissary, multi-purpose hall/laboratory. During Spring break, the class visited the site of FCAT’s forest reservation the Choco area, in Cube, Esmeralda Province as well as the capital city of Quito in Ecuador. By the end of the semester, the class presented consolidated and revised versions of the four building types within a planned masterplan for the site.
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