Graduate Application Portfolio 2014

“ You never cha n g e t h i n g s by f i ght i n g t he ex ist i n g r ea l it y. To cha n g e somet h i n g, bu i ld a ne w model t hat ma kes t he ex ist i n g model obsolete. �

-R. B uck m i nst e r F u l l e r

Table of Contents “B ecom i n g t he Pat h” ξ 1-2. I ntro 3-4. C ontents 5-6. C ompl ex Issue - A Call to Conscious Evolution 7-8. S olution & Skills: Career Summary and Goals 9-10. M ission of Life 11-12. P hotogr a ph y 13-14. A rt & Design 15-16. A ction and Achievement 17-18. C hoice & Perseverance

Conscious Evolution “D oi n g more w it h less” ξ A c a l l to conscious evolut ion. Humanit y is at a crit ical stage of evoltuion. Do we continue to grow and consume beyond our means, generating endless amounts of waste, poverty, and death of life and its support systems? Or do we work together and consciously choose to create a better world where all life can thrive.

The exponentia l growth rate of population, resource consumption, and pollution along with ever increasing geopolitical social unrest have many people thinking that catastrophe is inevitable. However, the exponential growth rate of information, technology, and social networking along with an ever increasing demand for the eradication of tyranny, is showing that humanity’s complex problems are solvable.

K now i ng t h e answers are with the swaraj, or self-rule of the individual coupled with the mass dispersion of education on the value of collective cooperation, is the key to mitigating crisis.

“At the center of nonviolence stands the principle of Love.� -MLK Jr. A design for the AmeriCorps organization in 2012 in honor of black history.

Career Summary and Goals “B ecom i n g t he Pat h� Ξ M y na m e is T. Coston Dickinson. I am committed to profficiently understanding the sustainable integrative design process. I am interested in the total redesign of modern infrastructure to become a completely closed-loop system, and aquire a symbiotic relationship with the biosphere.

I choose to focus on the complex issue of sustainable development.

I want to learn the practical application of the theory of ecological urbanism. I want to work to facilitiate collaboration between green architects, urban planners, and developers with ecologists, biologists, geographers, and the people.

My goal is to attain a succession of knowledge, from the architecture of a net zero house, to assessing the market viability of large sustainable mixed-use site developments, and as much inbetween as possible.

I will become a design scientist.

Skills E duc ation - BA in Interdisciplinary Studies of Environmental Sci両 ence, Geography, Sociology, and Computer Science. Thesis contends the economic, social, and environmental benef its of transforming conventional infrastructure to a sustainably integrated whole urban ecological system.

C ertified P er m acultur e Designer from Shades of Green School Wor ld C h a mber of Commerce - Director of Sustainability R a dia nce S ol a r - Senior system technician Fow l er D esign Associates - Architect assistant G eorgia C ol l ege Sustainbility Council St rong verba l , wr it ten, a nd i nter persona l com mu n icat ion; Bi l i n g u a l i n E n g l ish a nd Spa n ish ; Bu si ness de ve lopme nt a nd net work i n g. M icrost at ion ; Adobe Profession a l , I ndesi g n , Pho t o s h o p; M i c r o s of t O f f i c e ; G o o g l e S k e t c h Up 3 D c o m p u t e r modeling; Solar PV systems, site evaulations, design, and implementat ion. Construct ion document analysis, correct ion, and print ing;

“N ondua l G a i a� ( Below) - The Georgia College Earthfest t-shirt design for 2012. The world opens its eyes to the fundamental connection between life and its souce, the biosphere. Above, the human soul finds spiritual joy by returning to Nature. Below, a healthy, diverse, and integrative city regains balance and prosperity by following the three pillars of sustainability; reduce, reuse, recycle!

Th e M is sion - The intent ion is to set a new d irect ion for human it y through art, architecture, design, development, and science to make the world more conducive to all life, thus perpetuating this beautiful story of awareness in the Universe. (Above) - A picture of a Geodesic dome in Chile. Arguably the strongest and most sustainable structure. ( Bottom left) - Solar panels in Georgia. ( Bottom right) - Terraced agriculture in Italy.

“The Time I s N ow ” - GCSU Enviromental Science Club t-shirt design for

“Trinit y ” - A sketch depicting the female archetype, Mother Earth, embrac-

2010. Portrays the urgency of utilizing the present moment to correct igno-

ing the male archetype, Father Sun. Their love connection creates the Life

rant use of Nature.

force of all sentient beings on out unique planet Earth.

“M acchupicchu � (Above) - After hiking the Inca trail for four days, we arrived in Macchupichu, and I took this photograph as the clouds broke early in the morning before the crowds came. An ancient civilization whose history delivered great perspective on the fragile and tentative nature of our modern indutrial age. (Right) - Nine of my favorite pictures from different countries I have traveled to, including: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, Santiago, Chile, Cuzco, Peru, and Cinque Terre, Italy.

“O n e V er se ” - A sketch of the conscious cosmic Self emanat ing sound,

“A S pa r k Within ” - A sketch depicting the illumination within each of us, and

vibration, and thus the materialized universe from within.

a call from past artists, like Van Gogh, to keep it ablaze.

“L or d

of t h e

C o sm ic D a nc e � ( Below) - I drew th is picture for an Ind ian

restaurant in Milledgeville, GA called Metropolis. The Hindi owner, wanted a picture of Hindu God Shiva Nataraja. Standing on the back of ignorance, the God of cosmic happenings is an archetype the dancing f lux of the Universe.

The S u n - (Above) - A photo I snapped in the Atacama desert in Chile of a couple savouring the last few moments of a sunset. (Bottom left) - A sketch of the Hindu God, Ganesha, holy remover of obsticals and worry.

(Bottom right) - A sketch capturing the beauty of the fairer sex.

“C atch E a rt h f est ” ( Below) - The design for the Environmental Science Club and Georgia College 2009 Earthfast t-shirts. It calls for the upcoming generations and humanity to take on the responsibility catching Earth and its bioshere before if falls out of balance.

Ta ki ng A c t ion - In 2013, I was honored to give a speech advocating sustainable businesses at a World Chamber of Commerce Enviromental Symposium in Atlanta, GA. (Above) - GA Tech’s Jorge Breton, me, WCC founder Solange Warner, and Presidential nominee Governor Gary Johnson. (Bottom left) - A sunset during a permiculture design class. (Bottom right) - My crew installing a residential PV system in Colorado.

“L ife

is of only

B r eath � (Below) - This piece portrays the impermanence

of l ife, thus inst igat ing an immediate cal l to act ion. It mixes spiritual images of Mahayana Buddhism and Christian Mysticism, showing various elements that compose the physical and spiritual bodies.

Embracing mortality and the f inite nature of our individual existence allows humans to transcend our existential malaise, and fuels us to take action to create something beautiful while we are alive. Personally, this awareness has delivered a profound joy and gratitude for the opportunity of life.

“The Wor ld is Yours � - This charcoal drawing shows how humanity holds two future possibilities. The sphere above shows a world where wisdom and collective cooperation have manifested a world of peace in harmony with Earth.

The sphere below shows a nuclear holocaust brought about by resource exhaustion, and the geopolitical chaos that will ensue if humans do not change our current unsustainable path. At the center, the eye of destiny shines the colors of the light spectrum revealing love as truth in the void.

Conclusion “B ei n g t he C ha n g e � Ξ The C hoice is yours. If you want to change the world, you must first change yourself. Therefore, I choose change, adaptation, education, and evolution. Rather than fall in line with apathetic groupthink, I choose to transform the crisis before us into an opportunity to participate in the creation of our world. upper echelon of society, we are obliged to voluntarily take action and cooperate with each other, understanding that preservation and regeneration of the biospheric foundation of all life and thus all societies, serves in the best interest of every individual regardless of ideology. a midst th e

This

is

it. The time is now.