GAB 1.0_ PILOT BRIGADE DEVELOPMENT

The University of Illinois at Chicago Global Architecture Brigades (GAB UIC) spent January 5-9 visiting Granja Trapichito, the farm of Alejandro Rodriguez, were they conducted extensive surveys and site analyses to achieve a greater understanding of the agricultural tourism project on which they were to assist. They gained an incredible wealth of knowledge from Alejandro, who himself constructed each of the eight residential and utilitarian structures on the farm, with the help only of his two sons.

In addition to their preliminary information gathering, GAB UIC also conducted a design charrette with Alejandro to produce a cabin concept. They developed a two-story scheme that stacked a sleeping dorm above a shower, sink, workroom, and interior/exterior gathering space. The design was shaped dominantly by concepts of ambiguity and flexibility of space as well as the shielding and embracing of natural elements. Alejandro's own home provided valuable insight into dealing with strong northern winds and hot summer sun.


Alejandro is currently in the process of clearing and leveling his site for building, and GAB UIC is developing their design to the point of constructability. The process of cost analysis and materials procurement will begin within the next week, and GAB UIC will return to Alejandro's farm in May to assist with construction.

CLIMATE AND VEGETATION_BARRIGON

Latitude: +8.51
Longitude: -80.36
Altitude: ~400ft

SUN DIAGRAM
CLIMATE STATISTICS

REGIONAL VEGETATION

SITE

(from conversation with PATRONATO Engineer Carlos Rojas, 11.14.2008)

While Barrigon consists of six large farms (including Granjo Trapichito) spaced roughly 15 km apart, almost all of the its residents grow something on their land, including yucca, oranges, coffee, bananas, sugarcane, rice, pigs, and chicken, either to be sold at market or bartered for other necessities. The area has no electricity, and fresh water is received via aqueduct.

Several visitor cabins were recently constructed with community assistance on one of the larger farms. Using hand tools and locally obtained materials, each cabin was constructed for roughly $450.

Alejandro Rodriguez has set aside a 3,000 square meter piece of land for his project, along with pine, palm leaves (penca), and corrugated metal. While PATRONATO could provide generators and power tools for construction, it is Alejandro’s and our wish to use only vernacular methods, employing machetes and hand saws to cut, and vegetal ties to fasten.

GAB 1.0 _ GRANJA TRAPICHITO

Alejandro Rodriguez and his family have just recently gained full ownership of their farm, Granja Trapichito, in Barrigon, a village in the Cocle region roughly 30 minutes northwest of Penonome. As a subsistence farmer, Alejandro grows only enough for family consumption and small scale village exchange. This lack of surplus not only prevents him from generating any revenue, but also makes grain storage to supplement poor harvests almost impossible. Farms like Granja Trapichito thus lead stressful cyclical existences with almost no possibility for improvement.

The Rodriguez Farm is part of a larger piece of land acquired by PATRONATO, a nonprofit land grant organization working with local subsistence farmers to develop sustainable agricultural methods and viable revenue generation methods. Many farmers have expressed interest in agricultural tourism, and some have even begun building visitor cabins on their properties. Alejandro has set aside a piece of his own land for the construction of cabins as well, but lacks funding, design, and construction ability. The Pilot Project of Global Architecture Brigades will be to provide all three of these. Global Business Brigades Carnegie Mellon is working with Alejandro to cultivate the logistical aspects of the project, including visitor experience, advertising, community involvement, and future expansion.

The cabins will be built using vernacular construction methods, and will use widely available local renewable resources. As they will lack electricity and running water, they will use passive methods to provide cooling, ventilation, cooking, cleaning, and waste disposal. Construction will be carried out not only by GAB, but also by the Rodriguez family and community volunteers. Community participation is critical to the success of the project, as it will greatly reduce construction costs, increase personal pride and investment in the project’s success, and allow for the education of other farmers in construction methods and business models for the development of their own projects. Construction assistance could be provided in exchange for the design and construction of cabins on their own properties.

The project is to be carried out in two stages, one of observation and assistance, the other of design and construction. Accordingly, our January 2009 will allow us to survey they site, conduct interviews with the Rodriguez family and other farmers, study and participate in vernacular building methods, and listen to and propose ideas for the design of agritourism eco-cabins. Upon our return to the US, we will develop a cabin prototype to be built on our second trip in June 2009.

GAB

Global Architecture Brigades is a volunteer student-based collaborative dedicated to the research, design, and construction of socially responsible, environmentally sustainable solutions to architectural problems in the developing world. A think tank design approach utilizes extensive community dialog and independent research to create efficient, appropriate, and elegant structures to be embraced and utilized by those for whom they were built. Ultimately, extended relationships between brigades and communities would result not only in the implementation of a variety of projects, but also the accumulation of a vast wealth of knowledge from which future students, designers, and communities could learn.

Creating these solutions within the current parameters that the field of architecture has set is simply not possible. Students of design must question, reconsider, and ultimately rewrite every aspect of design that culture has come to accept. Through this counter-cultural approach to design defiance, architecture can become something essential not to the few who want, but rather to the many who need.