http://www.nwfecoleaders.org/forms/item/55/273

Campus, International

This project is taking place in Kijabe, Kenya

To create a net-positive visitor interpretive and learning center for Care of Creation Kenya

Other

I used the human-centered design approach developed by IDEO.org and the Living Building Challenge criteria developed by ILFI

The first phase has been accomplished but the project is ongoing.

Other

The design for the visitor interpretive center is based on the net-positive criteria for the Living Building Challenge. The building harvests its own water, recycles and scrubs all gray water, produces its own power and provides areas for growing food.

The project began in February 2016 and the first design phase was complete in December 2016..

Meeting with the CCK team in Kijabe but then doing the majority of the project here in the states has been very challenging. Also striving to understand small cultural differences has been difficult but worth it in order to move from designing 'for' to designing 'with'. Also, procuring sustainable materials has been challenging. Although they are not indigenous, we chose to spec Eucalyptus trees for poles as they are fast-growing, readily available and already grown commercially. This protects native species from deforestation.

Care of Creation Kenyan national staff and fellow team members stateside.

Yes the project is funded through Care of Creation Kenya

Mostly by email and social networks for Kenyan and US nationals alike.

Group reflection

The CCK staff reviewed 3D study models and concept sketches of the building design.

Revised goals, Added new team members with different expertise

As I mentioned, the project is ongoing. The Kenyan nationals suggested several modifications. We need to spin the main open section to face more towards the northwest to take in more afternoon sun and views of the Great Rift Valley below. Staff wants more open, collaborative office space - no individual offices. There is also concern about noise from the heavy rains so we are devising a double layered roof to protect against excessive sound.. We are re-engineering vertical planting panels along the north wall to rotate so that they can receive sun during the day but be secured behind steel bars at night.

I truly enjoyed the collaboration with the CCK team, I think especially due to the fact that they are of another nationality and ethnicity. It made for a rich experience as I learned how they view life, work, and relationships and their place within the living systems of Kenya and Earth. I feel very hopeful that this interpretive center will increase CCKs ability to gain supporters and reach more and more farmers and have greater effectiveness in regenerating the landscape of Kenya from radical deforestation and poaching before it's too late.

Don't be impatient. Projects in developing countries as they move very slowly. Team members must be very flexible and must think outside the box. Some sustainable materials may have to be replaced with less desirable alternatives and this must be weighed out against the ultimate goal to see if the compromise is too costly.

I plan to continue as project coordinator and lead designer here in the states. I have a group of six other cohorts joining me including an architect friend.. We are currently moving into phase two of the design making the revisions that I mentioned above. CCK is an organization that Nobel laureate, the late Wangari Maathai , wanted to succeed. I intend to make every effort to see that this organization effectively succeeds.