El Camino Real Academy Strategic Plan - DPAC 2020

UNM School of Architecture + Planning Design and Planning Assistance Center (DPAC)

EL CAMINO REAL ACADEMY STRATEGIC PLAN & DESIGN IDEAS

SPRING 2020

“…design and planning processes are fundamentally shared experiences that bind us together; client, student, and faculty. We learn from and about one another. Our strengths and our limitations become public knowledge, but somehow we all emerge stronger for it. For the faculty and students, it is a taste of reality, a test of skill, and a lesson in humility. For the client it is a glimpse of future potential and a symbol of a better life. For all, it is a learning experience and a reminder that architecture and planning are not some abstracted endeavors disconnected from the daily lives of people.”

Former SA+P Dean, Richard Eribes December, 1994

About the Design and Planning Assistance Center (DPAC)

The mission of the Design and Planning Assistance Center (DPAC) is to deliver design and planning services to lowincome communities throughout the state of New Mexico. DPAC was founded at the UNM School of Architecture & Planning (SA+P) in 1969, as part of a national community design movement that linked university design programs and design practitioners with communities in need. Today, DPAC is the second oldest, continuously operating, community design center based in a public university. Throughout its history, DPAC has completed over 1500 projects, serving hundreds of communities—large and small—in every county of New Mexico.

The DPAC Studio encourages broadbased thinking about urban design and planning. As Architects, Landscape Architects and Planners, we collaborate in a process that includes research, community participation, asset inventory, analysis, programming, site planning, design and recommendations for project implementation. We tackle the design process at multiple scales as we consider regional trends and characteristics, transportation issues, economic conditions, unique development and architectural patterns, local history, community climate, and community goals via the stakeholders.

Dear Principal Mercer,

The 2020 UNM Design and Planning Assistance Center (DPAC) is pleased to present to you and the El Camino Real Academy community the collective work of 21 student designers enrolled in the Master of Landscape Architecture and Master of Architecture programs in the School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P). For most SA+P students this interdisciplinary studio was their first opportunity to both collaborate with other designers outside of their respective fields and work with a client. We greatly appreciated your time and patience working with us and welcoming us into your community. Also, we are grateful for being able to visit the El Camino Real Academy (ECRA) campus several times before the mandated restrictions and closures due to the pandemic.

The ideas presented in the following pages incorporate a mix of ideas from student designers building upon the feedback that we received from the ECRA community during both our initial visit in mid-February and our “zine” workshop in early March. Ranging from highly tangible “quick-win” interventions to long-term visionary ideas, we hope that the projects presented will provide inspiration and stimulate dialogue around the future of the ECRA campus, helping to reimagine what is possible.

While this document is the final deliverable for this studio, we envision it not as an end, but the beginning of a relationship between the School of Architecture and Planning and El Camino Real Academy. We look forward to finding new and innovative ways to engage students from both schools on future initiatives and projects. At the end of this document, we have compiled a preliminary list of potential grants and funding sources that may be helpful in initiating some of the more tangible projects which may fit into ECRA’s emerging vision for the future.

We look forward to your feedback and please let us know if there is any way we can be of assistance in the future.

Regards,

The 2020 UNM Design and Planning Assistance Center

UNM SA+P

CONTENTS

El Camino Real Academy Strategic Plan & Design Ideas

156_Social Commons

Planning framework and design ideas that facilitate healthy social interaction in an inclusive and equitable educational environment.

186_New School Ecologies

Planning framework and design ideas that use can improve learning by providing inspiring spaces, created to challenge students and integrate learning into the school environment.

229_Next Steps

What next? A few thoughts and ideas regarding how to use this project to spark further discussion, ideas, funding, and action to take ECRA to the next level.

Anthony Fettes ASLA, PLA Assistant Professor, Landscape Architecture

Studio Goals & Objectives

During the Spring Semester of each academic year the DPAC Studio brings together student designers pursuing master’s degrees in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Planning. As one of few interdisciplinary studios in the School of Architecture and Planning, students work collaboratively, learning and testing new skills, while providing design and planning assistance to communities throughout the State of New Mexico.

Located along the historic route of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, El Camino Real Academy (ECRA) is a K-12 charter school with a current

enrollment of 350+ students and approximately 40 faculty and staff. As a community service provided by the Design Planning Assistance Center (DPAC) at the University of New Mexico School of Architecture & Planning (SA+P), twenty-one graduate students worked from February to May 2020 to develop a set of Strategic Framework Plans with supporting design ideas, precedent studies, and detailed design proposals. The work of the student designers under the direction of the professors has been documented and compiled in this publication for ECRA to use as inspiration and guidance for future improvements, while also

supporting grant applications for future improvements to the site and facilities.

Exploring an overarching theme of the El Camino Real Corridor, this publication includes the studio’s two introductory projects, which explore a broader narrative, provoking deeper inquiry into site, place and regional identity (Project 01), and concepts of urban design and place-making (Project 02). This was then followed by a full studio focus on ECRA for 9.5 weeks (Project 03), with nine student designers spending three additional weeks refining their designs through the end of the semester (Project 04).

Gov. Luhan Grisham declares a state of public health emergency and UNM extends Spring Break until April 5th

All classes to be held online for the remainder of Spring Semester

INTRODUCTION & PROCESS

Adapting to an Unprecedented Semester

GIven the number of students in the DPAC Studio and list of potential projects in a given semester (Spring 2020 originally had two defined “warmup” exercises and three communitybased projects) flexibility in course planning is essential. However, midsemester, no one was prepared for the world to change forever.

Days before Governor Luhan Grisham declared the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic a state of public health emergency and the prospect of completing the remainder of the semester 100% online, the DPAC Studio held it’s penultimate review.

Gov. Luhan Grisham issues ‘stay at home’ order for NM effective March 24

With critical feedback from guest reviewers, if was evident that the collective body of individual and small group projects needed grounding in an overarching framework. Yet as a wave of uncertainty began to close in on everyone, the studio identified three common themes and divided into four groups to each develop a Strategic Framework and set of guiding design principles.

While some level of discomfort and confusion was inevitable, the DPAC Studio quickly pulled together and adapted to the new normal of interactiing through Zoom video

conferencing, file sharing, and collaborating in a virtual workspace.

Successfully completing the semester despite the challenges, the DPAC Studio completed two communitybased projects, meeting 24 times via Zoom in addition to numerous additional small group meetings.

While not the most ideal way to wrap up the semester, online collaboration and exchange of ideas has become commonplace in many professions over the past decade - ultimately better preparing student designers into our rapidly changing world.

Project 01

Story of Place

January 22-31 (1.5 weeks)

JANUARY

Project 02

Intro to Urban Design

February 3- 7 (1 week)

Project 03

ECRA Strategic Plans & Design Ideas

February 10-April 10 (9.5 weeks)

Penultimate Review March 11

Project 04

ECRA Details

March 27-May 1

ECRA Presentation March 25 Spring Break?

Project 04

ECRA Design Details

April 15-May 4 (3 weeks)

FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL

Final Revisions &

MAY

Wk01Wk02Wk03Wk04Wk05Wk06Wk07Wk08Wk09Wk10Wk11Wk12Wk13Wk14Wk15Wk16Finals

Regrouping and Adapting...

Project 03

ECRA Presentation (Zoom)

Project 04

FINAL Presentation (Zoom)

ECRA site visit, Q&A with school administrators, teachers, and students, followed by a tour of the historic Gutiérrez-Hubbell House

First week of the DPAC Studio at UNM

Outreach

March 2020

Final class meeting (Zoom) XX May 2020

Recorded group presentations featuring

Project 01 | Story of Place

WHAT DEFINES THE EL CAMINO REAL CORRIDOR?

UNM SA+P

Design and Planning Assistance Center 2020

Crossroads of History, Culture, & Ecology

Albuquerque

Socorro

El Paso

STORY OF PLACE Understanding the El Camino Real Corridor & Albuquerque

Project Summary

As designers and planners, with every new project we must first orient ourselves to the place and inhabitants (or users) of the place or space which we are designing. While the site analysis phase at a minimum identifies the physical constraints and opportunities of a site, few projects invoke a deeper level of inquiry – exploring the concept of landscape as palimpsest. No site is ever a blank slate. Moreover, every site and its environs embody a complex and deeply interconnected narrative of natural and cultural history.

In this introductory project the DPAC Studio explored specific topics (i.e. geology, climate, ecology, agriculture, settlement, trade, etc.) related to natural and cultural history the El Camino Real/ Middle Rio Grande corridor. Research will be used to construct a narrative of place, highlighting the relationships between the past and present.

Project Duration: 1 week

Objectives

• Introduce students to urban design elements, concepts, and methods of representation

• Support the analysis and design phases of the two site-specific DPAC projects

• Provoke critical inquiry into the concept of place and place-making

Project Tasks

01_Research

Collectively, the instructors and class will discuss and list potential topics (broad/general) to research. Once a suitable list was agreed upon, the class formed teams and begin to research their chosen/assigned topics. Be sure to note key events in history (to develop a timeline), and collect examples of key diagrams/images to support development of a short narrative. While researching, consider how your topic relates to other topics and how it has influenced the development of the region through time.

02_Exploration & Discussion

On Wednesday, January 29, we will share our progress (before desk crits) and discuss how each topic is interrelated/has influenced the region. Additionally, note how your findings may impact your design decisions on future projects. Consider a brief search of available literature support your case.

03_Documentation

Research and disussion from the week was documented in the following pages spreads and were to include:

• Pertinent maps, diagrams, and images to succinctly describe the essence of each topic

• A timeline of relevant events that relate to the present day

• Succinct written narrative that supports the understanding of the subject and related graphics, while also noting how it related to the other researched topics

Topics Explored

The student design teams explore the following topics:

Climate & Ecology

Migration and the influence of climate change along the Middle Rio Grande

Water & The Acequia System

Water use and conservation efforts in the Middle Rio Grande corridor

Food & Ecology

How climate, ecology, and trade influenced traditional foods of today

Culture

Religion, knowledge, and traditions, from pre-Colombian to today

Settlement Patterns

Exploring the history of colonial expansion into the territory

Conflict & Connection

Tension and change along the historic cultural and trade corridor

Trade

Historic and modern-date trade throughout the corridor

Technology & Architecture

Exploration of building techniques and spread of innovation through time

Borders in Flux

How borders and their influence have changed throughout history

Santa Fe

Chihuahua

Durango

Zacatecas Guanajuato

AT&SF RR

AT&SF RR

AT&SF RR

Route 66

Route 66

Juarez

Migration & Climate Change along the El Camino Real

Climate change has caused movement in ecology as time has gone on. The more drastic the weather and ecoregions have become the more animals and plant life have changed. Animals forced to more north as their habitats are affected by human intervention such as agriculture and global changes. Plants have also shifted in their plant hardiness zones. Using fossil fuels as the primary engine of economic growth over the last century, human activities have warmed our planet as the major reason for climate change. With the current use of natural resources, farmers and ranchers will face more problems due to shrinking water resources, forests, and green lands across the state in the near future. There are three major climate zones including Hot-Dry, Mixed-Dry, and Cold in the state of New Mexico. In order to come up with a climate-responsive and sustainable design, all climate requirements of each climate zone must be met.

CORRALES

Middle Rio Grande Acequia System

Aquifer Map of the Albuquerque Basin

Well drilling for primary water supply and required depths overtime to reach fresh water. Part of the El Camino Real territory.

Source: NM Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources

The irrigation system called acequias evolved over 10,000 years in regions of the middle east. Hydrology was considered high and advanced technology

Acequias and ditches were established

Main Ditch Rio Grande Freeways Acequias

WATER & ACEQUIAS in the Middle Rio Grande

Water as a vital natural resource along the El Camino Real in a dry-arid landscape is one of the most important. With less than 20in. Of precipitation annually in the Albuquerque area, water does not come easy for plant life and humans using this trail. In the New Mexico landscape, most of the rain fall evaporates before it hits the ground, or surface vegetation collects the water. The rainy season allows for water runoff that ends up in the Rio Grande river or lakes. The primary source of water in this landscape is stored in aquifers below the water table . Depending on the season and the water table, water must be pumped through wells as a primarily means of gathering water. This water is filtered from the ground during Pre-Columbian times. In modern times along the El Camino Real and in the Albuquerque region, water has to be pumped by the city authority. Recently, water in NM has been on a shortage of water with aquifers nearly becoming depleted.

The U.S. Geology Survey created a timeline to explain the use of water in NM and how water use campaigns have lowered the water use. Water is being redirected from CO. of the San Juan-Chama project to build the reserves in NM aquifers.

Basic Hydrology Diagram for NM Water

Precipitation occurs, and runs off into rivers, streams, and lakes. The water percolates into the fluctuating water table and then into deeper aquifers. This is where drilled wells are able to pump fresh water out. (source: U.S. Geological survey)

1598

1800

~10,000 years ago

1600

Expedition of Juan de Onate arrived in the middle Rio Grande. The Tewa, Tiwa and keres pueblos in surrounding areas practiced irrigation and floor control techniques before the Spanish Arrived Division Dam/Acequia

Drainage System Ditch

Acequias/ Irrigation Ditch

Around 700 community acequias are in the state and still in use up until this date, and 97% of them service family owned fields and farms

2020

1840 - 1880 1998

2016 1891

1840-1880 – period of development after land was surveyed or sold during the establishment of uniform grids, in 1880 it was the peak of agriculture with 50,000 acre under irrigation

On May 29th, 1998, the New Mexico supreme court entered the first interlocutory order on the issue of the accepted methods of voting acequia officials. It was an important decision for all acequia associations in NM

Levee/Dique Rio Grande River

El Camino Real De Tierra Adentro

ALBUQUERQUE

SOUTH VALLEY

SANDIA PUEBLO

NORTH VALLEY

ISLETA PUEBLO

Ecology along the Camino Real was forever changed by the introduction of livestock from Europe like cattle, sheep and horses. These new breeds ate only certain grasses and caused the destruction of the prairies along the Camino from a diverse grassland into the shrubland of today. The Jornada del Muerto in southern New Mexico was once described as “thickly covered with the most luxurious grass, and filled with wildflowers…the greatest abundance… and the richest soil”. While many have benefited from ranching throughout history, European livestock is largely responsible for the loss of diversity in our regional landscape.

New Mexican cuisine and agriculture is a result of trade on the Camino Real. Today, farmers and families share seeds and recipes, handing techniques down from generation to generation. Ours is a tradition of those embedded in this place and of those who came to settle. Wheat, spices and livestock come from Europe, whereas Indigenous people were already cultivating the “Three Sisters”, corn, beans and squash. A plate of enchiladas tells the story of the

THREE SISTERS

“They loved each other dearly, and they always stayed together.” Most indigenous cultures have a version of this tale of three life sustaining crops grown and eaten together.

1000 trade flourishes between Ancestrial Puebloans and Mesoamerica

1598

Oñate comes to New Mexico and brings herds of livestock

SPAIN wheat, beef+cheese, rice, lettuce, onions

AMERICAN INDIANS

corn, beans

MESOAMERICA

corn, capsicum peppers (chile), tomatoes

United States Fish Comission establishedinvestigate, promote and preserve fisheries

1871

Number9, the great-grandfather of many chiles produced today, is released 1921

foreign livestock forever changed the structure of the soil and the types of grasses that thrived plants and animals of this continent lived in harmony and balance

FOOD & ECOLOGY

of the El Camino Real

Fish waste is used as fertilizer for plants

The native habitat of the Rio Grande cutthroat spans the entire Rio Grande

Due to population loss, minnow eggs are collected, propagated, and introduced downstream.

The Rio Grande has been the center of activity for many years. With the advent of irrigation, control structures such as levees and dams have dramatically altered the function and morphology of the river. The modification of the river leads to a decline in species diversity, leading to the need to stock fish for human consumption and recreation. While restoration efforts are underway, the native flora and fauna of the Middle Rio Grande is forever changed.

Kiowa National Grassland established

first chile festival in Hatch

salvage pilot project starts 2000

State passes “New Mexico Chile Advertising Act” making it illegal to mislabel chile

farmers draft declaration against GMO chile (GMO chile was never produced)

Pre-Spanish Colonization

CULTURE

Religion, Education, Tradition

The El Camino Real was a vital trail for the Mexican people as it was a means for travel, commerce and communication. For this reason the Royal Road, and its representation is not celebrated in Mexican culture.

Despite the neglect, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro was the most significant of the early trails in North America. It was the first European road in America, and for a century the longest.

The earliest European settlers in the United States traveled northward along this trail.

The first breeding horses, cattle, and sheep entered the American west by this trial.

The wheel, gunpowder, written language, iron, copper, Mica’s and other religions ceremonial pieces were traded along this trial.

In 1689, when the Pueblo Indians revolted, attacked Santa Fe, and drove the Spanish out of what would later become New Mexico, they looked to the El Camino Real for safe passage south.

1st - 7th Century

Teotihuacan: the holy city, “the place where the gods were created”.

13th - 15th Century

16th Century connection

The connection between the Pueblo people and Mexico moved west.

1550

Juan de Onate is born in Zacatecas. Acoma girls forced into convents.

1600-1610

Kewa: Site conversions and base for Fransisco missionary efforts. Change of goods exchanged.

Spanish Colonization

Post Spanish Colonization

1680

The Pueblo Revolt forced the spanish who survived to retreat to Juarez for 12 years.

Casas Grandes: Main hub of trade for ceremonial goods and communication between the Native people. By the end of the 15th century, the city was in ruins.

1519

Cortez arrives in Mexico.

1598

Onate’s expedition.

1600’s

The Piros people population of about 10,000.

19th Century

End of El Camino Real

Use of Pueblo, Spanish and English language.

1630’s

Piros were largely converted to Catholicism and building missions.

1920-1950s

Las Posadas: Christmas ceremony.

1692

November 2012

Piro-Tiwa-Mansos people for a “Welcome Home”.

Diego de Vargas recolonizes. 1941 Colegio Madrid of Mexico City. Spanish Market, held annually in late July on the Santa Fe Plaza, showcases traditional Hispanic art forms and artists.

Rym Naji, Galeb Sandoval, & Chelcie Ospino

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS

Dynamics of Settlement Development

The El Camino Real De Tierra, known as “The King’s Highway,” was a 1,600-mile-long trail that Juan de Onate traveled on in his expedition in 1598. Within 1598 Onate traveled through what we call today: Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan Pueblo), Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Socorro, El Paso, Juarez, Chihuahua, El Parral, Corralitos, Allende, Durango, Zacatecas, Lagos, Guanajuato, and Mexico City. Mexico City was the center of The Four Royal Roads – Caminos Reales: Santa Fe (North), Veracruz (East), Honduras *Guatemala (South), Acapulco via Guadalajara (West).

While traveling, Onate capture an Indian named Mompil, and he drew a map in the sand following the river while heading north. The trail itself was softly made by buffalo tracks and previous Indian settlements. When finally the river, they named the patch of land El Paso del Rio del Norte “The Crossing of the River”. The Rio Grande channel moved southwestward leaving previous settlements: Ysleta, Socorro, and San Elazar on the north

back; leaving the rest of the southeast settlements isolated, starting with El Paso. Continuing north was Jornada del Muerto, loosely translated to “Journey of the Dead Man”, a 90-mile stretch of barren desert without water that took about a week to cross. When Onate and his men finally encountered pueblo dwellers with well-developed agriculture, they called the area Socorro, meaning help or assistance. Two families decided to stay in Socorro, which then became the first European settlement in the United States in 1598.

At the end of the trail was Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan Pueblo) for the final resting place of the expedition; then ten years later, was relocated to Santa Fe.

Conducta Missions took six months, having 2/3 weeks of rest to travel of wagon caravans departing every three years from Mexico City to Santa Fe.

If you were traveling north, you were likely new settlers or newly appointed officials; and if you were heading south, the caravans contained traders, retired officials, friars, convicts and/or prisoners of war.

During the Pueblo revolt, many Spanish settlers were forced to flee south to Socorro, Isleta, and San Elizarro. For the 2000 remaining that continued going south walking through Jornada del Muerto, fewer than 1200 survived.

The rest of the refugees, which were Piro and Tigua Pueblos, gathered in El Paso and Juarez, becoming sister cities due to their population and proximity.

After ten years, the Spanish settlers returned to their missions for a rebuild and reclaim.

rebuild and reclaim. The use of the El Camino Real De Tierra continued until 1882 when the completion of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroads.

Originating as an alliance between the city-states of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan, the empire extended its reach by a combination of trade and military conquest. City-states paid tribute to the Aztec emperor. The empire reached its maximal extent in 1519, just before the arrival of a small group of Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés.

1200

1300

1350

700 1400

1519

Aztec MESOAMERICA ATHAPASKANS EUROPE TURQUOISE TRADE

moors

christians jews

Cultural Transformation On The Camino Real De Tierra Adentro

katsina cult fierce rock murals turquoise trade from north to south

conflict diffencive architecture mass graves burnt villages Empire

religious coexistance convenience poetry architecture mudehar libraries spanish inquisition

division of Muslim rulers submission to the christian rule

expulsion ends Spanish conquor Aztec Capital

NATIONALISM

TIMELINE cont...

CAPITALJSM

1521

Hernán Cortés exploited divisions among indigenous kingdoms in the campaign against the Aztec Empire. A final victory in 1521 was aided by indigenous allies Tlaxcala and Cortés interpreter, Malintzin.

1598

To expand their domains and gain more wealth for the Spanish Crown, conquistadors began expeditions on trails used by natives to exchange goods between north and south. In 1598, a group of military scouts led by Juan de Oñate arrived in Española. The trail became the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.

Founded in 1706, Albuquerque was a farming community and military outpost along the Camino Real. The town was also a sheep-herding center of the West.

1706

1821

The Camino Real became a path of continuous use for American forces using it to travel into the interior of Mexico. With the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo signed in 1848, Mexico ceded most of its northern territories to the US. The Camino was divided between two countries.

1848

1860

The Pueblo Revolt of 1860 violently forced the Spanish out of Nuevo México. The Spanish maintained communication and a supply chain along the Camino Real to their subjects remaining there, the conducta.

1912 2000

Eirini Boutasi, Carlos G. Gomez, & John Owen

CONFLICT & CONNECTION

TRADE

Pre & Post-Colonization

The El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro trail was named by the Spaniards when they colonized Mexico. But the trail was used long before the Spaniards arrived. Indigenous people in Mexico and the Southwest region traded goods back and forth. These trades included but were not limited to buffalo hides, salt, turquoise, copper, chocolate, and macaws. The center of trade between tribes, according to Archeologists, was Casas Grande, the ruins of which are in what is now Chihuahua, Mexico. When the Spaniards led by Hernan Cortez arrived in 1519 at the port in Veracruz, Mexico. Cortez’s trek to Mexico City became the first leg of the trail for the Spanish colonizers moving into Mexico. The trail Cortez took led to Mexico City, the first stop and official beginning of the El Camino Real.

The second leg of the trail started at Zacatecas, after the discovery of silver in the mountains nearby. This portion of the trail was originally an Aztec foot path that has its terminus in Chihuahua.

The final leg of the trail winds up from Chihuahua to either Santa Fe or the pueblo Ohkay Owingeh depending on the source.

After Mexican independence from Spain the El Camino Real crossed with the Santa Fe Trail, which opened up the possibilities of trade between Mexico and the United States.

The trail went out of service when the train made its way to New Mexico, which was about 1882. Parts of it still remain across its 1,600 miles, national historic sites are littered across it.

Santa Fe Albuquerque

El Paso

Juarez

The Final Leg

1598-1882

Chihuahua

The Second Leg

Durango

The First Leg

Mexico City

Mary

Zacatecas

Guanajuato

Pueblo located East of the Church + convent. Arranged + built with three buildings to the North and two small plazas South. Constructed entirely from Adobe.

Earthen pueblo containing remains of Tiwa settlement.

In the 1700s, the church had thick adobe walls, a small belfry, porter’s lodge on the south side, priest’s garden, cemetery, and a corral where the priest kept his livestock.

Shelter built into the cliffs of Pajarito Plateau. The house remains are thought to have contained more than 1,200 rooms.

The discovery of the mines of Zacatecas was the main starting point for this process, since it was indispensable to protect people and to guarantee the safe delivery of silver, mercury and the goods that were essential to supply the needs of the mining towns. Once a center for silver mining, Zacatecas has earned a reputation as an agricultural center noted for its grains and sugar cane.

One of the important states in Mexico called Zacatecas. La Toma

Zacatecas (The Taking of Zacatecas) is considered to be the largest and bloodiest battle of the Mexican Revolution.

The Spaniards discovered silver in the region, which intrigued their interest in Zacatecas. The region became a province of New Galicia, and many silver mines were established. The roads leading from Zacatecas to the rest of the country, known as the “silver paths,” were hotbeds of resistance and sabotage by elements of the indigenous population who were against mining and commercial activity. The Camino Real originally united the Spanish capital of Mexico City with the rich mining districts surrounding Zacatecas and Ciudad Chihuahua.

Yungue construction: no windows or doors on the first floor to protect from attacks. They climbed ladders to upper levels and descended to the bottom. Spaniards remodel: doors and windows added to lower level.

Pueblo + military camp. Church, homes + plaza and adobe Church, museum, jail, made from adobe

The Pueblo Revolt left the Spaniards in exile in what is now West Texas for the next 12 years. There, they and friendly Indian tribes, established the communities of Socorro del Sur.

An Adobe structure that has survived over four centuries of use and architectural evolution. Reflects both Spanish and Native methods of construction. The Plaza was surrounded with other casa reales, a fort, military chapel, carriage house, servant’s quarters, warehouses, and a tannery.

Sangre de Cristo church, pre-colonial pueblo + a 17th century estancia. Resettled in 1751. Two plazas established in 1790, church was established in 1800.

Tools are an essential part of our lives and help us reach technological breakthroughs. New settlers moving from town to town would invent and bring important goods for crafting. These goods would be used to create tools and technology to make life more live-able. Thanks to the discovery of mining camps, the types of metals found were use to create things such as nails, axles, wheels, and even the carriages itself. Blacksmithing became one of the biggest trades in the New World. Military weapons and armor were also created to fend off from hostiles lurking throughout the trail. The El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Historic Trail is one of the most treasured and most important trails in the world. The biggest trades took place in this trail from minerals to materials such as leather or fabrics. Eventually the trail would be obsolete as railroads and highways became more popular.

The mines of Guanajuato were discovered and they quickly led to great wealth. Templo de San Cayetano was founded to be close to an entry way of a silver mine. It was one of the churches with its altarpiece made of gold.

Spanish settlements had been established as far north as the twenty-seventh parallel, approximately 850 miles north of Mexico City. The richest mining centers were connected by a well-traveled road, which would ultimately be extended to beyond Santa Fe, New Mexico, and this route later became known as the Royal Road to the Interior Lands—El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.

The 1,600-mile trail brings traders, settlers, and military from Veracruz, to Mexico City, north to Chihuahua, through present-day El Paso, to Socorro, Albuquerque, and, after its founding in 1610, to Santa Fe.

The rough trail broke the nails loose from wagons and carriages settler were moving in. Hundreds of cobbler’s nails, farrier’s nails, and upholstery nails tell the story of El Camino Real.

Re-founded after the revolt. Colonists built a plaza + a church, dedicated to San Francisco in 1695. Convent was built after 1698 but was destroyed by flood in 1735-36.

The pueblo included a music chapel +convent with a well stocked infirmary. Rebuilt in 1700s, the pueblo was laid out around a central, rectangular plaza bordered by flat-roof adobe blocks. Housing blocks are uniform one + two story structures.

Basket weaving skills and fabric mechanisms were important in the trade expedition throughout the trail. Mercury and silver were very valuable and an important essential good sold throughout the trade.

Hand-hewn carts, tools, leather water jugs, and religious altars and relicarios were the most important things brought by Spanish settlers for the journey through the trail.

Traffic over the trail came to abrupt halt when an Indian revolt, led by the San Juan Pueblo leader, Popé, forced all Spanish residents to leave Nuevo Mexico and retreat south to the Rio Grande valley.

Homesteaders dug wells for water for their cattle. The first well was at Aleman but then was abandoned by the end of the twentieth century.

The church here was dedicated to Santa Ana and burned during the 1680 revolt. Settled by Spaniards in 1722, they constructed a church in 1712 and the a plaza. Military presidio, gilt interior pillars, and a painted tin ceiling.

Adobe walls.

El Alamo travelers could rest here while entering or leaving Santa Fe, the house of El Alamo was large with a upper story and many corridors.

Bracito mail exchange point, site of the battle of bracitos during the Mexican American war. Had a schoolhouse.

This marked the arrival of the Railroad. It severely caused traffic on the El Camino Real which then caused it to rapidly decline.

The biggest railroad town was Engle, built in the middle of Jornada. This would go from the Mississipi River to the Pacific Ocean.

Long distance traffic over the trail ceased when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad was completed from eastern Kansas to Santa Fe in February 1880 and on to El Paso in June 1881.

One of the most luxurious estancias in the 19th century. It was the site of the civil war battle of peralta apr 15 1862.

Francisco Xavier Chavez built a hacienda here. Homes for the wealthy built from cottonwoods (rare in NM). After the battle of peralta los pinos was used as a supply depot and military post.

Architectural significance on site include stone columns and walls that make up the pergola and beautifully frame the lake views, the fifteen tourist cabins, and the boathouse.

Showcases ancient ruins. Some are over 4,000 years old and are believed to indicate the location of one of the largest and oldest villages in the present-day United States

The Territorial Assembly had established New Mexico’s first modern highway, New Mexico Highway 1, roughly along the El Camino Real route.

Historians give the date 1885 as the death of El Camino Real, when the railroad effectively made the trail obsolete due to unparalleled ease.

NM Territorial Highway Commission negotiated funds to revamp the La Bajada sections of the El Camino Real.

New Mexico has achieved statehood.

Most of the highways in New Mexico follow the old trail of El Camino Real.

The U.S. Route 66 is overlayed over parts of El Camino Real. These roadways move modern travelers to their important destinations and discoveries as they continue to shape the melting pot of the American Southwest.

The historic road was added to our National Trails System in 2000 as El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail.

of the El Camino Real

In 1598, Juan de Oñate and came to Ohkay Owingeh and declared it as the Spanish Colonial capital. It was only a year later that he would murder over 800 of the Acoma people and torture and enslave everyone who wasn’t killed. Even though he was convicted of war crimes by the Spanish government, this would only be one in a long history of oppression that last until the present day.

Project 02 | Intro to Urban Design

CONTEXT & NEIGHBORHOOD ANALYSIS

UNM SA+P Design and Planning Assistance Center 2020

Project Locations in the El Camino Real Corridor Context

INTRO TO URBAN DESIGN Urban Context Analysis

Project Summary

OLD TOWN

Wells Park Neighborhood

DOWNTOWN ALBUQUERQUE

UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO

In Project 01, we explored a more qualitative, storytelling approach to understanding and connecting a physical place with its cultural expression – an emerging field of practice. For Project 02, students learned to document/inventory and analyze urban design-scale elements to better understand how our project site relates to its surrounding context in scale and function.

Situated at the nexus of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning, the practice of urban design guides the arrangement and design of buildings, public spaces, mobility, services, and amenities. The scale of projects can vary from groups of buildings, campuses, and neighborhoods, to cities as a whole. Urban design is ultimately about making connections between people and places, movement and urban form,

ALBUQUERQUE INTERNATIONAL SUNPORT

South Valley Isleta

Blvd. Village Center

& El Camino Real Academy

nature and the built fabric. It draws together the many strands of placemaking, environmental stewardship, social equity and economic viability into the creation of places with distinct beauty and identity—a “sense of place.”

Study Location: Central Albuquerque & South Valley, New Mexico (With emphasis on the historic El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Corridor)

Project Duration: 1 week

Objectives

• Introduce students to urban design elements, concepts, and methods of representation

• Support the analysis and design phases of the two site-specific DPAC projects

• Provoke critical inquiry into the concept of place and place-making

Project Tasks

Student designers were tasked with selecting a specific task from the Task Matrix (below) to explore a specific topic related to the physical, social and functional aspects of the study area and neighborhood surrounding the project site. Each student will interpret potential design opportunities and constraints from their mapping and analysis diagrams.

Documentation

Documentation on the following pages includes maps (with appropriate legends), plus supporting diagrams and images, and a brief written description.

Data Disclaimer

While efforts were made to ensure the accuracyofinformationpresentedin thissection,unintentionalerrorsand incompletenessarelikely. Ifcitingor usinganyinformationprovided,please refertotheoriginaldatasource.

LOS CANDELARIAS

CERVANTES

LOS DURANTES

SANTA BARBARA

HISTORIC ALBUQUERQUE

Along the El Camino Real

The El Camino Real trail travels north through the city of Albuquerque, making it one of the El Camino’s most populated settlements. Crossing the Rio Grande river twice in close proximity, many settlements formed, creating the start of the city. One of the oldest settlements that is still present is Old Town, located on Central Avenue and Rio Grande Boulevard SW.

ATRISCO

OLD TOWN BARELAS

MARTINEZTOWN

DOGTOWN

SAN JOSE

El Camino Trail

BARELAS

MARTINEZTOWN

DOGTOWN

A - Down Town Area

B - Old Town

C - Down Town Neighborhood

D - Huning Highland

Some of the historic sites that are mentioned are categorized in three certificates: Building Design- Historic, Minor, and Major Certificates. Under Building Design

E - East Down Town Neighborhood

F - Silver Hill

G - Fourth Ward

H - Eighth + Forrester PAJARITO

Historic is the Down Town Area. The Minor certificates are Old Town, Eighth and Forrester, Fourth Ward, Huning, and Silver Hill neighborhoods. The major

certificate areas are the Downtown and East Downtown neighborhoods. Beside Nob Hill, there are no other historic site within Albuquerque.

MAP EDGES

URBAN ELEMENTS

In the 50s and 60s, Urban Planner Kevin Lynch studied several large cities to learn how they work and how they are perceived. He discovered that people form mental maps of their city consisting of several elements he called paths, nodes and edges. Paths make up all they ways people move from place to place. like roads and multi-use paths. Nodes are areas for people to gather for different reasons like entertainment or education. Edges are the physical or implied barriers. Albuquerque has the Sandia Mountains on the East and dormant volcanoes to the West. The north and South barriers are marked by the absence of development.

As Albuquerque expanded, downtown became a node for business, entertainment and social gathering.

CAMINO

This area features all of the major sports stadiums for basketball, football, baseball, soccer, bmx and more.

The South Valley is one of the oldest areas in Albuquerque with many heritage sites and a rich agricultural history.

I-25 NODES

Aside from being a hub for students, the University and surrounding area are a retail and outdoor activity node.

Since the city’s founding, the church and plaza in Old Town have been a major city node.

Albuquerque has several areas zoned for industrial activity like manufacturing, construction material sales and shipping.

South Valley Isleta Blvd. Village Center

ZONING

South Valley Isleta Blvd. Village Center

Overall, the two most prominent zoning districts in this area are single-family residential plots as well as agricultural land, There are some small spots of commercial space and two mobile home parks.

Being so close to the river, the soil is rich and allows for many types of agricultural land uses to thrive.

The South Valley area falls outside of the City of Albuquerque, leaving it in the Bernalillo County zoning district. This district opted out of the zoning changes, so the zoning codes have not changed for some time.

MAP LEGEND

Isleta Boulevard Village Cente r

Single Family Residential Zon e

Rural Agricultural—1-Acre Minimum Zone

Mobile Home & Single Family Residential Zone

Neighborhood Commercial Zone

LAND USE

South Valley Isleta Blvd. Village Center

Land use in South Valley, location of the El Camio Real Academy, is characterized by large swaths of singlefamily residential neighborhoods. Major transportation corridors are lined with commercial areas. Notably, in he southern portion of this map, land use begins to be increasingly agricultural, with reduced density of buildings to land overall.

Areas of Interest

D ensity Study Area

Land Use Categories

Low-Density Residential

Multi-Family Commercial Retail Commercial Services

Office

Industrial

Institutional/Medical

Educational

Airport Transportation

Agriculture

Parks & Open Space

Drainage

Vacant

Utilities Community

The intersection of Isleta and Rio Bravo Blvds. represents a typical commerical district including restaurants, automotive shops, and markets. El Camino Real Academy is situated in this commercial area.

Southwest of El Camino Real Academy is a typical residential neighborhood.

Agriculture is prevalent within this area of South Valley. Nearly all of the open space here is fields.

DEMOGRAPHICS

Historic El Camino Real Corridor - Albuquerque

Albuquerque is diverse and known for many things, some good and some bad. Demographics for the city show age, race, income and poverty. Such topics influence civil and community projects. In general, the Hispanic population makes $10,000 les per year than the white population.Sub-topics of demographics include food access, education, health, and home status. The South Valley, along the Camino Real, has a high rate of those who have less education and access to healthcare, but a high rate of home ownership. This is likely related to the historic traditions of agriculture and multi-generational households that are prominent in the area. Using all these topics together will clarify demographics and lifestyles of the area and allow for better analysis.

DEMOGRAPHICS

South Valley Isleta Blvd. Village Center

El Camino Real Academy is located within the South Valley, just south of Albuquerque. In some aspects, the surrounding neighborhood area of the school is very different from the outer reaches to other neighborhoods. Poverty, truancy rate, percentage of the main race population and education make up the four maps on the left. These focus on some main concerns or topics within the South Valley and even greater Albuquerque. It is also important to note the differences of the surrounding neighborhoods. The maps on the right indicate a secondary, but still very important demographic to the school and surrounding neighborhood. Food access, green space, and healthcare can have a direct affect on school children.

These maps are intended to be used as a tool to aid us in any changes or further benefit the area.

GENDER PERCENTAGE OF SCHOOL CHILDREN AT ECRA

50.5% Female

TRUANCY RATE K-5, ABQ ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, 2013 + SCHOOL GARDENS

PERCENT OF UNDER 18 LIVING IN POVERTY FOOD ACCESS INCLUDING SNAP

26.5% under 18 living in poverty 73%

1% Asian

3% Native American

32% White

POVERTY RATE IN NM LESS THAN 15% 16-25% 26-50%

1% African American

64% Hispanic

RACE PERCENTAGE OF SCHOOL CHILDREN AT ECRA

Data source: maps and data from NMCDC

% OF THOSE WHO SPEAK LANGUAGE AT HOME

Central Albuquerque & South Valley

Looking at the streets in the Wells Park district, the neighborhood is very condensed with very tight roads and sidewalks. The area is mixed with different arrangement of commercial, residential, and industrial. Wells Park is a community neighborhood.

As for Rio Bravo Blvd., the road is very dense with traffic. Commerical and housing also are present in that area.

When driving down Rio Bravo, you will reach the one of the major streets that intersect it which is Isleta Blvd.

Image Source: Google Maps, 2020

South Valley Isleta Blvd. Village Center

The El Camino Real Academy sits along the trail of the historic El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. The school’s intention is to teach many STEM programs and other curricular activities.

The school sits along Isleta Blvd., with a diverse uses of spaces. Isleta Blvd. has single-family housing, green park, and a skate park. A multi-commercial plaza with a number of businesses is located south of the school.

Image Source: Google Maps, 2020

Image Source: Google Maps, 2020

PUBLIC TRANSIT

Central Albuquerque & South Valley

ABQ RIDE along with ART buses, are the main transit rides in Albuquerque and surrounding. Through this research, focusing on two opposing zones, South Valley and Wells Parks, we were able to analyze and report data found, onto maps, that show the different bus routes, bus stops, and amenities in a, respectively, 5-10 min walk, 15 min distance using bus, radii.

These inform and show the importance and place the car holds in Albuquerque, and most importantly in zones that are surrounding main zones, such as Nob Hill, UNM Campus, Downtown area and CNM Campus.

Bicycling Routes

MAP LEGEND

Project Area

Trails

Dedicated lanes

Bicycle-friendly roads

Dirt/unpaved trails

KEYNOTES:

Traffic Routes

PUBLIC TRANSIT

South Valley Isleta Blvd. Village Center

Analyzing the information and data gathered for the zone of south valley in Albuquerque New Mexico, specifically by the site of El Camino Real Academy Charter School, along, Isleta Boulevard, the transit is not as accessible as it is in other areas in town such as the wells park neighborhood. Placing the transit data on the map there are three bus routes south bound Isleta Blvd SW. These routes are, 53 Isleta, 51 Atrisco/ Rio Bravo and 222 Rio Bravo/Rail Runner/Kirtland Airforce Base, proving nearby public transportation options such as 12 bus stops within a 10 minute walk radius from the ECRA site and access to a variety of amenities including the Bernalillo County Rail Runner Station.

Bus Route 222 Rio Bravo/Rail Runner/ KAFB has one bus stop along Rio Bravo near the intersection of Rio Bravo Blvd. and Isleta Blvd. This bus stop its located within the 10-minute walk from the site ECRA and a 5-minute distance using public transportation, and it gives access to the Bernalillo County Train Station which follows with three stations north bound including the Albuquerque Transit Department and the Alvarado Train Station in the heart of Downtown Albuquerque, NM.

Aside from the data obtained about the public transportation there are a variety of amenities within a 10-minute walk distance, and 15-minute bus distances along Isleta boulevard such as fast food restaurants, banks, and grocery markets and recreation parks. When placing this information, most if not all amenities are along Isleta Blvd., making it accessible to residents living on the two neighborhoods along this road, Adobe Acre and El Porvenir neighborhood.

https://www.cabq.gov/vision-zero

MAP LEGEND

BICYCLING NETWORK

Central Albuquerque & South Valley

This is a city-scale map of the cycling infrastructure for Central Albuquerque and the South Valley. The bike routes are scaled across the main city on either side of the Rio Grande. The map is a visual graphic of the various routes and access points. To propose more access to the main bike routes from Wells Park and El Camino Real Academy. The pedestrian routes are smaller that use unsafe sidewalks along 40 mph roads. Wider routes for the bike lanes and more clear markings for safer movement.

BICYCLING NETWORK

South Valley Isleta Blvd. Village Center

Sidewalks in the South Valley are mostly throughout residential areas. However, Isleta Boulevard is shared by cars, a bike path and a sidewalk. Bike paths are connected to a larger nature trail system but nothing ensures bike safety in urban corridors adjacent to ECRA. Improvements to mobility should include wider, shady sidewalks and designated bike lanes along Isleta Boulevard.

bike path > 6 feet

bike path < 6 feet sidewalk

Section A: showing Isleta Blvd. on north side of ECRA

Section B: showing Isleta Blvd. looking north

Wells Park Neighborhood

OPEN SPACE & RECREATION

Central Albuquerque & South Valley

Albuquerque has many open spaces, one of the most prominent is the bosque that runs through the city. However, there is always room for improvement, especially around our two areas of focus; Wells Park Neighborhood and the South Valley. Additionally, there are opportunities for corridor connections between these two sites that include the river as well as historic sites like the Albuquerque Railyards. Trail connections could also link residents of the South Valley to nearby open spaces.

Text: Sam Eberle

OPEN SPACE & RECREATION

South Valley Isleta Blvd. Village Center

The map shows existing traits of the area around the Camino real Academy such as existing parks, the rio grande area, two neigbor schoolyards and private open space and farms.

It becomes obvious that private open space and farms occupy a big portion of this map. It shows potentiality of further developement.

Parks on the other hand are very few. The school often uses the park next to it on the north side.

MAP LEGEND

Tree Canopy

Parks

Rio Grande Open Space

Schoolyards

Agricultural Lands

El Camino Real Academy

Acequia/Ditch/Drain

Isleta Blvd

Rio Bravo Blvd SW

El Camino Real Academy

Rio Grande Bosque

Private open space

Bravo County Park

Project

UNM SA+P

Design and Planning Assistance Center 2020

EL CAMINO REAL ACADEMY

Strategic Plan Options & Design Proposals

Project Summary

As designers and planners, with every new project we must first orient ourselves to the place and inhabitants (or users) of the place or space which we are designing. While the site analysis phase at a minimum identifies the physical constraints and opportunities of a site, few projects invoke a deeper level of inquiry – exploring the concept of landscape as palimpsest. No site is ever a blank slate. Moreover, every site and its environs embody a complex and deeply interconnected narrative of natural and cultural history.

In this introductory project the DPAC Studio explored specific topics (i.e. geology, climate, ecology, agriculture, settlement, trade, etc.) related to natural and cultural history the El Camino Real/ Middle Rio Grande corridor. Research will be used to construct a narrative of place, highlighting the relationships between the past and present.

Project 03 Duration: 9.5 weeks

Project 04 Duration: 3 weeks

Objectives

Project 03 (Initial Planning & Design)

Focus on developing a master plan vision for the El Camino Real Academy charter school, touching upon the following criteria: design quality, environmental and cultural stewardship, community engagement, collaboration.

Project 04 (Design Advancement)

• Explore a project you have been working on from a different perspective

• Research potential pathways for project implementation to provide additional tools and support for the ECRA community to manifest ideas into fruition

• Develop project content that tells a complete story or idea with strong justification and compelling graphics

Project Tasks

01_Research

Collectively, the instructors and class will discuss and list potential topics (broad/general) to research. Once a suitable list was agreed upon, the class formed teams and begin to research their chosen/assigned topics.

02_Exploration & Discussion

On Wednesday, January 29, we will share our progress (before desk crits) and discuss how each topic is interrelated/has influenced the region. Additionally, note how your findings may impact your design decisions on future projects. Consider a brief search of available literature support your case.

03_Documentation

Research and discussion from the week was documented in the following pages spreads and were to include:

In-Person Online

Project 03

ECRA Strategic Plans & Design Ideas

February 10-April 10 (9.5 weeks)

Full Studio (21 Student Designers)

4 Strategic Plans Featuring 21 Individual Projects

COVID-19

Regrouping & Adapting

Organizing individual projects into over-arching Strategic Plans

Project 04

ECRA Design Details

April 15-May 4 (3 weeks)

Half Studio (9 Student Designers)

7 of 21 Projects Enhanced

+2 Additional Design Ideas

FINAL

12.5 Weeks

The intention of this proposal is to integrate a psychological approach to design where the mental and physical wellbeing of students, faculty and families is at the forefront of planning strategies.

El Camino Real Academy | Strategic Plan

SOCIAL + PSYCHOLOGIAL DESIGN

UNM SA+P

Design and Planning Assistance Center 2020

Team:

Carlos Gomez - Master of Landscape Architecture

Geena Gutierrez- Master of Architecture

Teara Herrera - Master of Landscape Architecture

Chelcie Ospino - Master of Architecture

Design Principles

Overall Strategic Vision

The intention of this proposal is to integrate a psychological approach to design where the mental and physical wellbeing of students, faculty and families is at the forefront of planning strategies.

These design principles are each thought out to pertain to different goals of the project.

1. Provide a strategy for circulation that allows positive social interactions within the school environment and provides possibilities for building community relationships with the surrounding neighborhood of Isleta Boulevard.

2. Cultivate a safe learning environment that is,

3. Rooted in the El Camino Real culture, historically, regionally, and internationally.

4. A strategy for enhancing the school’s outdoor areas from the ground up utilizing the site’s great potential for water harvesting. By organizing outdoor spaces with careful consideration to the way water moves over the grounds, areas where water once pooled can become activated as vibrant educational and play spaces.

5. Incorporates environmental learning opportunities from the creation of a pollinator landscape throughout the site.

6. Interior circulation and the importance of properly framing hallways and corridors. There are several corridors on the existing framework of El Camino Real Academy and this design proposal will observe ways to amplify those spots.

1. Optimize Circulation 2. Cultivate Culture 3. Prioritize Safety

4. Design with Water 5. Enhanced Learning in Vegetated Spaces

6. Frame Hallways & Corridors

Strategic Vision|Water + Site Circulation

Improved circulation addresses the desire of the school to become partners with the neighborhood in building a thriving community. Just as the Rio Grande once helped define the path of the Camino Real, water will be the organizing principle for new paths of possibility.

Strategic Vision|Safety + Culture

Cultivating a safe learning space that is deeply rooted in the El Camino Real culture, historically, regionally, and internationally.

Guiding Principles

Transparency that grants access to natural light and foliage, viewable by students, has been documented to help aid in mental health and well being, and even higher test scores. Transparency also allows for greater accountability.

Mental health is essential to developing excellent design in schools. An example could be placing the counselors office in a student populated area, creating opportunities for personal relationships + feeling welcome.

New Mexico Requirements

There are many laws requiring that the school building and parking lot be continuously maintained.

New Mexico schools are required to practice a fire drill once a week for the first four weeks of school and then once a month after that

Unobstructed views provide the administration a stronger accountability system. Being able to look out over the entire parking lot of the school creates a visual community and a more secure entry.

Way finding is vital for first responders, especially during an emergency. We can provide this through things like permanent, visible room numbers or even color coding.

SCHOOL SAFETY

Safe, Secure, and Welcoming

Safety has become the most talked about topic when designing a school because of the more recent push against shootings. Though design can’t solve the atrocity that is school shootings, there are ways to design a space that encourages mental health and discourages outside intruders. Some of the main focuses of recent designs include promoting principles of

crime prevention through environmental design, supporting mental health and social-emotional needs of the students, and supporting the next generation pedagogies that build a community around cultures of care. Visual freedom, first responders, mental health, and nature are some tangible principles that provide path ways to these communities.

ECRA has obviously considered the security of the school in depth with the use of security cameras with 24/7 surveillance, magnetic locks and exit buttons on doors, and more. The graphic below displays multiple security options without having to disregard aesthetic.

Current ECRA Practices

Door signage, directional exit signs, as well as magnetic locks on exterior doors are used for the majority of thresholds.

24/7 surveillance with security cameras in specific areas throughout the interior of the building.

Visitors are required to sign in at the front desk located in the main entrance for the school.

Fire alarms, extinguisher, and alarm pulls are peppered throughout the building near doors.

Boundaries determined by chain-link fences include elementary school playgrounds and the exterior of the school.

The main entrance overlooks a portion of the parking lot.

Precedent Studies

El Camino Real Academy in Santa Fe, New Mexico has a beautiful way of keeping an open playground safe and secure by wrapping the building around it. Each playground piece has age appropriate structures separated from each other allowing teachers to more easily contain students to their perspective playground.

Princeton Charter School in New Jersey does an excellent job of providing safe spaces for their students to experience learning. The car circulation is optimized through the two main entrances and exits, while the main axis of the school’s walking paths are clearly available.

Fostering Community, Safety, and History

The Garcia Hubble House, not far from ECRA, is an important landmark for the El Camino Real. The home doubled as a place to exchange goods, gossip, and a travelers refuge.

Outdoor classrooms can become a vital piece to a child’s education. The precedent above might be out of reach for our current project, however it highlights the importance of shade, created with manmade materials as opposed to natural materials like trees.

Plant walls that surround the outdoor classroom areas give the class concealment from exterior distractions, and protection from outside of the classroom. The plant wall allows for air movement and supports mental health.

The El Camino Real Academy has one major obstacle that schools should not have to be seeking a solution around, the building. Schools have an obligation to be a safe place for learning and employment. While ECRA has done an excellent job of protecting and encouraging their students through their education while in an old “Piggly Wiggly” grocery store, it is time to get the school building right. Some key challenges found throughout the project at El Camino Real Academy include the existing buildings, location, and cost.

Using the historical El Camino Real trail as a guide within the school creates the major axis along the center of the school property. The amphitheater, a major landmark within the school creates the central point to the axis. Other landmarks include the playground, garden area, the school building itself, gym/cafeteria, and the field on the south side of the site. The ECRA gives an important historical identity to the school. It not only provides a clear understanding of pedestrian way finding, but also connects the school to regional and national major landmarks such as the Garcia Hubble house, Santa Fe and further, Mexico City.

Concept Diagram

The floor plan diagram takes advantage of the middle axis within ECRA. This axis helps create major walkways and points of interest within the campus.

The outdoor reading area (B1) contributes to a safe and secure playing environment. Through the use of low maintenance foliage the fence becomes a more secure barrier between the children and the bank.

A community field (B2) allows the school the opportunity to invite the community into their space, without having to open up the building. This park like outdoor space is an inviting area for the surrounding community to be more involved in sporting events, gardens, and community classes.

Outdoor classrooms (B3) offer a slight change of pace for the students and teacher. The benefit of having an outdoor, slightly transparent partition between classrooms is the air flow, and enough privacy to allow the class to function normally.

Cultivating a Strong Identity at ECRA

School safety becomes the priority when designing a school building. ECRA has done an excellent job using what they have to protect their students and faculty. While there isn’t a dependence on design alone to solve the atrocity that is school shootings, there are ways to encourage mental health and discourage intruders through design.

Visual freedom for admin, way finding for first responders, and mental health and nature for students, are some tangible principles that provide the way to become the community that ECRA has started.

The floor plan diagram takes advantage of the middle axis within ECRA. This axis helps create major walkways and points of interest within the campus.

Connecting the buildings with each other contributes to higher security of the campus as a whole. This also allows for more passive surveillance. Finally, the school can even cut itself off

off from the south side of campus, if there were to be community events taking place along the field.

Bring in a deeply rooted culture, and an identity for the school emerges. ECRA is located along one of the oldest routes in American history - The El Camino Real. The school’s name and the people have embraced this identity, but now the building itself must grab hold of it.

Cultivating a safe learning area that is deeply rooted in the El Camino Real culture, historically, regionally and internationally is the framework for this project. Bringing the two principles together produces a safer school and a stronger community.

B3

Outdoor Reading Area

Community Field

B3

B3

B1

B2

B1

B1

B2

B2

Framework Plan Design

WATER BASIN

PLAY GROUND AREAS

COMMUNITY FIELD AMPHITHEATER

OUTDOOR

WATER BASIN

ADDITIONAL PARKING

The El Camino trail or pathway throughout the campus is anchored by the outdoor amphitheater. This not only becomes a major pathway and way-finding tool, but a space to cultivate community and bonding as a school. The major landmarks, such as the community field, amphitheater, outdoor classrooms, outdoor reading area, small ponds, play ground areas, and pick up/ drop off make navigating the campus easy.

The single, primary entrance on the west side of the elementary building, and several exits leading out into the playgrounds on the east side of campus, lowers the chances of people

getting into the school unauthorized and gives the occupants several safe zones to exit out of.

The surrounding campus fence allows for a low maintenance, growing trumpet vine to create the sense of privacy within the campus grounds needed from the bank and other businesses. Windows facing the west and east sides of the school give the administration the ability to have visual access throughout campus and parking lots.

There are several opportunities for outdoor engagement, encouraging the mental health of students. Outdoor classrooms, reading spaces and the

community field all encompass the campus.

Access to the community fields is a separate parking lot along the south side of the campus.

The car drive-through, located along the east most side of campus, allows for parents to drop off and pick up elementary aged children. The school has a choice of allowing middle and high school ages to also use this drive through, or use the front or west side of campus for entrance. This separates the schools into their respective elementary, middle and high school.

ENCLOSED BUILDING

MAIN PARKING LOT

MAIN

CONNECTING TO PLACE

Current Site & Context

El Camino Real

Stormwater flows to areas of compacted earth creating ponding throughout the site.

Rio Grande

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the namesake of El Camino Real Academy was meaningful to many that traveled it as a chance to make a fresh start. The trail carried countless emigrants across vast landscapes near the sources of life-giving water as safely possible. Today Isleta Boulevard is the main urban thoroughfare for the South Valley of Albuquerque, NM.

The majestic Rio Grande along with its adjacent systems of acequia and foot trails are within a 15-minute walk from ECRA. The school's placement offers opportunities for outdoor learning and connection to the rich agricultural traditions of the Middle Rio Grande region. The school is clustered among two neighboring schools and the open spaces of Clinton P. Anderson Park, the South Valley Pool, and South Valley Community Complex. Safe access to the river and between vital civic amenities is needed. An integrated approach to stormwater management transforms the site's water into an asset for campus beautification, learning, and play while activating the creation of new community pathways.

LEGEND

Parking Area

Planting Area

Lawn Area

Shade Structure

Learning Garden

Bosque Area

Community Garden

Bioretention Area

Site Boundary

Bringing

it All Together

A water forward strategy enhances the school’s outdoor areas by utilizing the site’s great potential for stormwater harvesting.

A strategy for improved circulation integrates pathways between activated spaces transforming the school into an immersive campus.

Building Footprint

Security Boundary

Red Gravel Path

Existing Tree

New Tree

Water Catchment

WATER HARVESTING

A Water Centered Approach To Pathmaking

Pleasant Waymaking

Immersive Learning

Open-Air Gathering

Transforming the site water into an asset for campus beautification, learning, and play will, in turn, remake the school grounds into a living laboratory. Pathways will connect activated spaces and provide daily interactions with campus resources.

As living laboratories, gardens draw students into active participation in the learning process. Science, math, language arts, health, and many other subjects may be introduced through hands-on experiential activities and stewardship.

A vegetated plaza will provide a comfortable and welcoming gathering space. Studies have shown that the reintroduction of nature can enhance the quality of learning environments to benefit health, wellbeing, and productivity.

SCHOOL CIRCULATION PEDESTRIAN CURCULATION

Material Selections

Decomposed granite pavement (DG) is a textured and responsive paving material used on paths and plazas. It does not fade, crumble, chip, crack, or stain. The dense surface releases a thin layer of aggregate that is tactile and audible underfoot and, with regular maintenance, the surface is consistent and endlessly repairable.

Material Selections

Erosion under concrete can significantly compromise its structural capabilities causing cracking. Permeable pavers over dry gravel wells allow excess rainwater to seep back into the ground rather than move across the landscape to areas where flooding or erosion may occur. Pavers may serve as edging or over a large parking area.

Accessing the Neighborhood

Walkable Streetscapes

Walkable, tree shaded corridors along neighborhood streets increase the joy and ease of mobility for pedestrians, especially school aged kids walking between community amenities such as the South Valley Public Library, Aquatic Center, Grower’s Market, Rio Bravo Skate Park and other civic centers. Often, Complete Streets policies mean narrowing lanes or constructing a roundabout to slow traffic. Walkable welcoming streets foster sociability, which in turn increases investment in the area.

Immediate access to the bosque trail system and nearby Valle del Bosque park, Pajarito, Durand and GutierrezHubbell House Open Spaces provide a unique connection with nature in an urbanized area. Incorporating way finding directional signage for pedestrians, including public art, pedestrian amenities and educational elements to the existing landscape could greatly expand the experience for all users.

This proposal envisions how a field trip from El Camino Real Academy might study the movement of water across the landscape into stormwater management and acequia systems, over agricultural fields, and into the watershed of El Rio Grande. The proposed walking route immerses student in local heritage, culture, ecology, landscapes and experiences as a foundation for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other subjects.

LEGEND

ECRA site boundary

Proposed field trip

Acequia or ditch

Bicycle path

15 minute walk zone

Open space

El Rio Grande

ABQ Public school

INTERACTIVE INTERIORS

Designing Based on Color Theory, Textures, Materials + Dynamic Games

The transition spaces of the El Camino Real Academy currently lack in the areas of color, material diversity, and engaging students. The main focus of this design proposal is to integrate positive color, as stated in the color theory chart below.

Additionally, textures should be integrated into the school such as wood (resembles nature, creates warmth and great lighting), rubber flooring (more hygienic, easier on joints, minimizes cleaning efforts, and injects color into spaces) and wood fiber cladding (provides a sense of color, texture and a change of pace).

As these very small changes create a significant difference, it is becoming increasingly clear that in order to have a positive atmosphere it starts at the smallest of details.

Precedent

Basic Color Psychology in Relation to Learning

Blue:

- A positive color or those who are disabled.

- Helps with wayfinding.

Muted Blue:

- Ecourages productivity and retention of information

Brown/Wood:

- Relation to nature, calming,helps with logic and critical thinking

Project Location

Left side:

- Productivity

- Memory

- Language Skills

- Logic

Ye llow - Bold, helps with wayfinding for those who are disabled.

- Promotes happiness and positive communication.

Orange:

- Bold, helps children and adults focus.

- Provides a sense of calmness.

Green:

- Associated with nature + wellness.

- Promotes ocus, growth and decreases anxiety in children.

Right side:

- Mood

- Creativity

- Focus

- Context/Space

Regier, Terry, and Paul Kay. “Language, Thought, and Color: Whorf Was Half Right.” Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Elsevier Current Trends, 27 Aug. 2009

Interior Elevation A1

Interior Perspective A2

Interior Elevation A3

Interior Elevation A4

Material Swatches + Furniture Options

Pollinator Walkway for Sensory Learning

Outdoor Classrooms for Learning Enhancement

LEARNING LANDSCAPES

Enhanced Learning in Vegetated Spaces

The suggested environmental aspects for the site include pollinator walkways and outdoor gathering spaces that could be used by the kids to enhance their learning experience through the use of a beautiful landscape.

The implementation of these outdoor interventions could be extremely beneficial to the children because they would allow them to go outside, get fresh air, and learn in and from their environment. All of these could be made fairly easily and can be enhanced if desired.

By focusing on the children’s senses, we could create designs that could expand their education in a way that will stimulate their minds and allow them to grow in new and profound ways

NATIVE PLANTING TO ATTRACT POLLINATORS

PROJECT LOCATION

SYNDROMES BEE HOUSES

POLLINATOR

Sunflower Purple Aster

Texas Ranger Apache Plume

Site before, very barren and lacking any sufficient vegetation. Only a few trees and some uneven grass areas.

Site before, barren and lacking anything intriguing or stimulating.

Gathering structure for enjoyment and learning.

Beautiful sensory walkway to increase creativity.

Mexican Feathergrass

20 Colorado Plateaus

20b Shale Deserts and Sedimentary Basins

20c Semiarid Benchlands and Canyonlands

20d Arid Canyonlands

21 Southern Rockies

21a Alpine Zone

21b Crystalline Subalpine Forests

21c Crystalline Mid-Elevation Forests

21d Foothill Woodlands and Shrublands

21e Sedimentary Subalpine Forests

21f Sedimentary Mid-Elevation Forests

21g Volcanic Subalpine Forests

21h Volcanic Mid-Elevation Forests

Ecoregions

21j Grassland Parks

22 Arizona/New Mexico Plateau

22a San Luis Shrublands and Hills

22b San Luis Alluvial Flats and Wetlands

22f Taos Plateau

22g Rio Grande Floodplain

22h North Central New Mexico Valleys and Mesas

22i San Juan/Chaco Tablelands and Mesas

22j Semiarid Tablelands

22k Lava Malpais

22l Plains of San Agustin

22m Albuquerque Basin

22n Near-Rockies Valleys and Mesas

23 Arizona/New Mexico Mountains

23a Chihuahuan Desert Slopes

23b Madrean Lower Montane Woodlands

23c Montane Conifer Forests

23d Arizona/New Mexico Subalpine Forests

23e Conifer Woodlands and Savannas

23f Rocky Mountain Conifer Forests

23g Rocky Mountain Subalpine Forests

This design framework supports sustainable lifestyles and cultivates creativity by fostering innovation, curiosity, environmental stewardship.

El Camino Real Academy | Strategic Plan

INNOVATION TO SUPPORT STEM LEARNING

UNM SA+P

Design and Planning Assistance Center 2020

Team:

Gabriel Raab-Faber - Master of Landscape Architecture

Rainelle Miller - Master of Landscape Architecture

Mary Mays - Master of Landscape Architecture

Omid Mohseni Tousi - Master of Architecture

Kathrine Schanwald Faul - Master of Architecture

Justin White - Master of Architecture

Architecture Design Principles

INNOVATIVE ADAPTATION

Strategic Plan - Architecture

Architectural strategies create more natural light through curtain walls, a clerestory, and interior courtyards. Interior initiatives support sustainable lifestyles for students and staff. A foundational focus on environmentally friendly aspects of the school support learning and creativity. Improving energy efficiency of the existing buildings will enhance the spatial quality of all spaces.

Integrate Natural Light Support Sustainability Optimize Energy Efficiency

New interior spaces with a “shed roof” aesthetic will block intense southern sun and allow softer northern light to brighten interior spaces. Integrated qualities of indoor/outdoor from curtain walls promote views of the landscape and bring positivity and excitement to students. Rooftop decks allow for outdoor learning experiences in STEM education by exhibiting design.

Provide achievable immediate and long-term goals that conserve resources and are financially beneficial to the school. Increase efficiency and cut operating costs through sustainable renovation with no-VOC paint, LED lights, occupancy sensors, low flow plumbing fixtures, acoustic panels and flooring made from recycled or renewable materials. Initiatives will improve indoor air quality and environment while promote activitybased learning.

Improve energy performance of existing walls and roofs. Convert selected classrooms to open air courtyards to encourage natural light. A new wing on the north of property blocks wind and protects play areas. Passive strategies including PV cells, Trombe walls, light shelves and solar shades regulate energy use.

Access to natural light improves learning for all age groups.

Landscape Design Principles

Immersive Play Manage Water Employ Natural Resources

An immersive and interactive landscape environment that uses sculpture, plants, art and play equipment cultivates dynamic experiences for students to learn and grow individually and socially. Diverse play experiences help students build relationships with themselves, each other and the Academy.

Cisterns and infiltration strategies water landscaping and reduce irrigation inputs. Channels and detention basins effectively water trees and plants throughout the campus. Water management fosters health and sustainable knowledge, and supports STEM learning.

Food plants support curriculum and supplement school meal program, contributing to a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Raised beds and hoop houses provide season extension for the duration of the school year and enhance learning opportunities in subjects like life and environmental science. An adjacent wetland supports essential wildlife.

INNOVATIVE ADAPTATION

Strategic Plan - Landscape

School gardens provide innovation in sustainability and health education and provide opportunities for a healthy lifestyle in real time. Water management extends STEM curriculum to the outdoors through passive landscape infiltration and a built wetland. New paradigms of play spaces expand outdoor opportunities for lovable and highly memorable experiences.

Children who participate in a school garden are more likely to encourage healthy eating at home.

Raab-Faber, Miller, Mays, Tousi, Schanwald Faul, White

Design Focus: ECRA Main Building (Elementary & Middle School)

INNOVATION & ENERGY

Simple & Effective Solutions

This architecture design proposal focuses on energy efficiency and climate responsive strategies.

Natural light is crucial to productivity and education, however, classrooms in the main building have a lack of natural light. No existing passive energy strategies are employed in this building. Energy modeling and simulation shows that ECRA can have a higher energy efficiency using renewable energies and selecting materials with a higher R-value, or with better heat resistance. There is also little connection between indoor and outdoor spaces leading to a juxtaposition between school environments.

Considering the energy analysis outputs, three alternatives were considered that included key parameters: wall and roof material, windows and natural light, spatial quality (courtyards and thresholds), and PV cells. Four classrooms are replaced with two courtyards, providing natural light and better circulation. Employing PV cells, light shelves, and higher R-value materials for external walls and roof lower energy inputs. For an expansion plan, a new block separated with a covered porch is added to the existing building, providing more space for PV cells and better spatial connectivity.

All scenarios were evaluated regarding their annual energy cost and energy use index. The third alternative is the most efficient because it uses the greatest amount of passive and active strategies while providing the building with more natural lighting and spatial cohesion.

Light Shelf

Light shelf provides natural light to greater depth by bouncing the sun’s rays through a reflective surface

Re ected daylight

Light shelf

Trombe Wall

Trombe wall construction used on south side of the building to store solar gain during of the sunny day and radiate into building during the night

Existing Building no change

Current building design is solid and compact.

Annual Energy Cost/ft2 Daylighting Analysis

Alternative 01

courtyards + pv cells

Inner courtyards provide natural light to central classrooms.

Light shelf bounces sunlight into library at a greater depth.

Trombe walls capture heat from the sun during the day and slowly release it at night.

Alternative 02

courtyards + building addition

RED = No Light

BLUE = Some Light

YELLOW = Abundant Light

Proposed block replaces classrooms replaced by courtyards and provides greater connection to landscape and ECRA campus.

New Block

PV cells: Solar Panel 0% coverage

Exterior Wall Construction: Brick/ rigid insulation (R13)

Window-to-Wall Ratio: S:45% N 5% N 25%

Window Frame And Glass Type: Curtain Wall/ Aluminum/ Double Glazed

Roof Construction: Roof with rigid insulation (R40)

Existing Block

PV cells: Solar Panel 0% coverage

Exterior Material: Brick/ rigid insulation

Window-to-Wall Ratio: E:30% W:5% S: 10%

Window Frame And Glass Type: Aluminum/ Double glazed

Roof Construction: Roof with rigid insulation

EUI: 30.7 kBtu/sq.ft/yr

ANNUAL ENERGY COST: 0.46 USD/sq.ft/yr

Best Efficiency | Courtyards + Buiding Addition + PV

After evaluating all energy simulation data, alternative number three provides the best combination of energy efficiency and aesthetic quality. With the edition of interior courtyards, an additional wing and PV cells, energy use will decrease and will cost $0.48 per square foot per year, which is significantly lower than current costs. In addition, the renovations to the main building and the addition will create better natural lighting and a greater connection between indoor and outdoor spaces.

Cells

Next page: Top: Adding PV cells will decrease energy costs. Bottom: showing new block interacting with the outdoor spaces and providing a protected courtyard.

Energy Efficiency | Alternative 03

PVcellsconvertsolarenergy

centralcourtyardprovidesnaturallight

Spatial Quality & Sustainable Strategies

Site Plan

PVcells sunshade

double-glazedaluminumcurtainwall

renewablepermeablegroundcover

Section

Exterior view of east and south side of elementary and middle school showing solar shelf and Trombe wall.

CASE STUDY|Redding School of the Arts, Redding, California

• LEED Platinum

• Wind Turbine

• 121 kW PV System

• Solar Water Heaters

• Large brightly painted surfaces

• Fruit trees on site provide food

• 175,000 underground water tank

• Outdoor learning spaces allow students to experience fresh air and peace-fullness of nature.

• 600 seat open-air amphitheater, with a retractable sun shade, is located in the central core of the main building and serves the community in the evenings.

SUSTAINABLE INTEGRATION

Improving Indoor Air Quality + Occupant Health

The El Camino Real Academy is in need of a strategic plan to improve the sustainability, efficiency, and longevity of the school. The following pages will present suggestions for environmentally friendly implementations that will increase indoor air quality, occupant health and concentration, expand school curriculum, and decrease operating costs. More specifically, highlights regarding the compositional integrity of existing materials, suitable replacements,

diagrammatic sustainable implementation strategies, cost analysis for future materials, and visual aids of these items can be found.

Short term goals for the school would entail material upgrades while more long term would include larger scale products such as solar panels. Installing things like PV panels and water collection tanks presents the school with a unique opportunity to educate students on their

Existing Classroom

operations. Learning about sustainable mechanisms and materials in school could have an incredible impact on student’s lifestyles, day-to-day function, and potentially their future career choice. These suggestions will be more costly initially but will return a profit in the years to come. The recommended methodology can be altered to include more, less, or alternative implementations dependent on any additional future needs, financial restrictions, or occupant suggestions.

Classroom w/ Sustainable Materials

Existing Figure Ground| ECRA

• Lack of Daylighting on site

• Efficiency of floor plan can be improved

• Need for sustainable materials

• No water collection

• Circulation on site can be reconfigured

Improved Figure Ground| ECRA

• Daylighting included in each interior space

• Classrooms rearranged and added for efficiency

• Sustainable materials improve Indoor Air Quality

• Water recovery on site

• Corridors added between spaces to improve circulation

Fluorescent

No

LED Lighting

Occupancy Sensor

Zero VOC Paint

Eco-Friendly Carpet Tiles

New vs. Existing Materials

LIFESPAN MAINTENANCE

RECYCLABLE VOCEMSSIONS

LIFESPAN MAINTENANCE

RECYCLABLE VOCEMSSIONS

LIFESPAN MAINTENANCE RECYCLABLE VOCEMSSIONS

LIFESPAN MAINTENANCE RECYCLABLE VOCEMSSIONS

Short Term Goals

LIFESPAN MAINTENANCE RECYCLABLE VOCEMSSIONS

LIFESPAN MAINTENANCE RECYCLABLE VOCEMSSIONS

materials/products listed are intended to provide the school with long and short term goals for sustainable upgrades that improve the IAQ and occupant health/well-being.

LIFESPAN MAINTENANCE RECYCLABLE VOCEMSSIONS

LIFESPAN MAINTENANCE RECYCLABLE VOCEMSSIONS

LIFESPAN MAINTENANCE RECYCLABLE VOCEMSSIONS

LIFESPAN MAINTENANCE RECYCLABLE VOCEMSSIONS

Long Term Goals

LIFESPAN MAINTENANCE RECYCLABLE VOCEMSSIONS

LIFESPAN MAINTENANCE RECYCLABLE VOCEMSSIONS

BRICK

CMU

CARPET

The seven materials/products listed are intended to improve the IAQ, occupant health/well-being, and provide an opportunity for the sustainable features on site to be incorporated into the school’s curriculum.

PHOTOVOLTAIC PANELS

Material & Product Analysis

Solar Panel costs for an average-sized installation, in the U.S., usually range from $11,411 - $14,874 after solar tax credits.

Site Assessment: 1-2 wks

Design Approval: 1-3 wks

Permitting: 2-8 wks

Installation: 2-5 days

Inspection+Connection: 3-8wks

SOLAR SHADING

Costs vary greatly depending on window application, material, and installation parameters.

Shades can be pre-made in a factory which can decrease install time from weeks to days

Require very little maintenance, very durable, can last 25-30yrs.

Wash and clean of dirt and dust 2-4 times a yr

SM Prefab: $150-$300 150-200 Gal.

SM Fiberglass: $300-$600 300-550 Gal.

LG: $3,000-$10,000 10,000 Gal.

LEDS:

Avg. cost for a lighting upgrade is $5.00

Occupancy Sensors: $30-$130 depending on the type

Can take 1 to several days depending on if it’s above ground and needs a concrete pad or underground and requires excavation

Low maintenance, materials can be recycled in most cases

LEDS:

Seconds/Minutes

Occupancy Sensors:

15 min or less on most outlets

Maintaining water quality can be difficult. Consider installing a treatment system to improve quality and safety of water.

LEDS:

Typically have a rated life of up to 50,000 hrs

Occupancy Sensors: Approx. 10 yr battery life

Sherwin Williams Harmony: 1 Gal. = 400 sq.ft. $60,49 per gal = $0.15 per sq.ft.

Prep: 0.19 min/sq.ft.

Cutting in: 0.32 min/sq.ft.

Rolling Walls: 0.19 im/sq.ft.

Non-yellowing, washable, durable finish, easy to clean

Clean-up: 0.07 min/sq.ft.

Total: 0.76 min/sq.ft.

Costs range from $1.10- $4.00+ per sq.ft. depending on series

Install time for carpet tile can range from a few hours to days in larger spaces

Can sustain heavy foot traffic, tiles can be individually replaced if damaged, can be cleaned easily

WATER COLLECTION

LEDS + OCCUPANCY SENSORS

ZERO-VOC PAINT

ECO-FRIENDLY CARPET

Future ECRA Improvements

• Solar shading on each exterior window.

• Overhangs provide additional protection from the sun.

• Daylighting in each interior space.

• Interior courtyards help to cool the building and offer outdoor classroom opportunities.

• Classrooms rearranged and added for efficiency.

• Sustainable materials improve Indoor Air Quality.

• Water recovery on site.

• Corridors added between spaces to improve circulation.

• LED and Occupancy sensors installed to improve electricity usage.

• Eco Carpet tiles + Zero-VOC Paint improve IAQ and long-term maintenance.

• PV panels offset electricity use.

LEGEND:

Zero-Voc Paint

Carpet Tile

Solar Shades

LED Lighting/Occupancy Sensors

Rainwater Cisterns

OUTDOOR CLASSROOM

ENTRANCE

CAPTURE & MANAGE WATER

Fostering Health,Knowledge, & Sustainability

The high school area of the El Camino Real Academy is currently not vegetated and has standing water during rain events.

The roof of the gym, quad and high school classrooms have an approximate square footage of 24,748. This area, in a 1” rain event could collect up to 15,343 gallons.

I am proposing two 5,000-gallon cisterns to capture most of the water to be used as irrigation in this design.

Rainfall

L1

Cistern

Manage Water | Creating Lessons in History & Agriculture

Two detention basins stand at either end of an orchard of fruit trees. These basins are connected by a runnel that has channels that come off it into sunken bases around the fruit trees. This allows for water to move in a way inspired by acequias.

This both serves as space to hold water during intense rain events but also as a lesson on how acequias work as well as how to grow and maintain an orchard of apple trees.

The shrubs that line the detention ponds are Indian Hawthorn. A short flowering shrub that will add an understory and visual interest to the space.

Detention Pond (South)

Detention Pond (North)

Cistern (North)

Sunken bed and fruit tree, typ

Concrete Runnel

Concrete Runnel

Channel to planter

Sunken Planter

Indian hawthorn

Apple tree

Outdoor Classrooms | Fostering Learning & Knowledge

The south side of the high school, the class rooms can be extended out, creating mirrored outdoor classrooms with movable seating and enough space to set up tables and chairs as needed. This space is framed by Purple Robe trees, creating the canopy ceiling in the outdoor rooms. Between the classrooms there is a buffer of Purple Leaf Plum trees, which remain rather short, but also grow fruit. These trees are watered by the captured water in the cisterns. This expands the lesson on managing orchard trees.

The trees are planted in slight trenches that keep water until it can infiltrate

Purple Leaf Plum

Prunus cerasifera

Moveable seating

Purple Robe Robinia pseudoacacia

Outdoor Classroom

Outdoor Classroom

Outdoor Classroom

Outdoor Classroom

Walkway through

Cistern South

Purple leaf plum

Purple robe

Water Management | Fostering Health & Learning

The area between the gym and high school become a working landscape, handling the possible 5,000 gallons of rainwater that aren’t collected and stored in cisterns. This landscape creates greenery in easy access visually and physically, while also becoming a learning landscape to learn about drainage and about water importance.

The planters have bark mulch over the soil, and rocks are placed around the trees, large enough to sit or climb onto. Desert Willows bring color into the previously stark space, while Red Osier Dogwoods add a pop of red in the fall and winter. The four landscaped areas all have these elements.

Desert Willow

Rocks big enough to sit on

Chilopsis linearis Drains excess rain water into landscape

Red Dogwood Cornus sericea

Covered drains, typ.

Red osier dogwood

Desert willow

Permaculture Design Toolkit

Existing Conditions

INNOVATIVE BUILDING EXPANSION

Daylighting Strategies

The existing conditions for the El Camino Real Academy (ECRA) is built in a former strip mall for grades K-8. The spaces lack windows and have long circulation corridors that are dark and do not offer a transition space to engage with other students. The leaning environment of this wing is very compressed. The High school wing is a separated building with separate building components from the classroom and gymnasium. The gymnasium is also the cafeteria. The circulation from classrooms are outside on sidewalks. ECRA wishes to focus on STEM studies for their HS, yet does not offer spaces to exhibit the work, nor does it offer the spaces for collaborative study to inspire students.

Design Goal: Bring natural daylight into the transitional spaces fostering an environment of curiosity, and to explore collaborative study in a spacious interior.

Existing library with minimal lighting

Small facade windows make dark corridors

Long dark corridors with no natural light Outdoor corridor of high school wing

Shed roof for natural light and balcony on second floor

Large curtain wall on facade for interior lighting

Shed roof design/ aesthetic Taubman Complex Object of Curiosity

Architectural Intervention|High School Wing as Additive Concept

Architectural Intervention|K-8 Wing as Subtractive Concept

Existing Classrooms

Existing Classrooms

Existing Classrooms

THE ‘OVOID’-VERTICAL CIRCULATION TO CAPTURE INTRIGUE

The Ovoid encases the stairs and elevator as an art piece and can also mimic constellations as a science project on its interior.

Existing K-8 wing-The corridors are subtracted from the roof for the new Shed roof and clerestory’s. Only three classrooms are subtracted for the interior courtyards. The new glazing aids to help bring in natural light and borrowed light into the spaces.

After subtractive process, additive process for the new Shed roof and clerestory’s.

The first floor of the new high school wing has been retro fitted with additions for new circulation that wraps the existing buildings with new circulation space and curtain walls of glazing. The SE corner addition is double height space for eating space over the gym as the cafeteria. The Ovoid is in the corner as the main vertical circulation for the stair and elevators up to the new mezzanines. The new high school wing is filled with daylight and an open concept in the main spaces for students to engage with each other.

1ST FLOOR PLAN (NOT TO SCALE)

The second floor contains the east and west mezzanines, along with access to the observation deck in the Ovoid. The mezzanines offer study space and exhibit space for special projects. Students can view projects in the new corridor from the east mezzanine and balcony. The rooftop decks offer additional space for projects and an elevated view of the ECRA campus.

2ND FLOOR PLAN (NOT TO SCALE)

WEST

SECTION A-A

The “Ovoid” vertical circulation

Mezzanine/study lounge around Ovoid

High School Wing | Sections

Lobby/Flexible/Cafeteria Space

Computer lab corridor

SECTION B-B

SECTION C-C

New enclosed corridor computer lab/ flexible study space w/ Glulam rafter beams

Enclosed Mezzanine (West)

SOUTHEAST VIEW

NORTHWEST VIEW

PLAY AT ECRA

Lovable, Memorable Outdoor Experiences

Students spend most of the year at school and about a third of each day. They also spend at least another third of their day sleeping. The other third may include homework, chores, and some might have jobs. ECRA, being a K-12 school. It’s possible that some kids will spend over a decade there.

A huge portion of their lives are spent at school and while there, most of the time is spent in class and indoors.

The time they get to spend outdoors is incredibly important as a time to destress and practice playful selflearning. As it stands right now, the outdoor area leaves a lot to be desired, which is actually a perfect blank canvas for an imaginative play area.

PROJECT LOCATION

Images taken during site visit at El Camino Real Academy showing playground desolation and damaged equipment.

These clay fields also have built-in, chain-link goals and fences along the ends to keep balls on the field.

Football isn’t as popular as basketball or soccer, but the fields can also be used for football

Clay volleyball court with durable built in net and marked boundaries.

Two, half basketball courts are built on the side of the gym to keep the balls from bouncing away.

classic playground game that only requires a simple paint job on blacktop or concrete.

Strategic Plan

This outdoor play area is designed to maximize the benefit of the student’s outdoor time, using recess research student feedback to determine a design strategy. Sports were one of the most popular recess activities as reported by the students. There are

several sports fields with surfaces built from a type of lightly compacted clay. This clay surface allows for a low dust and consistent surface for sport like soccer and football. This surface is also affordable and very low maintenance when compared to a turf field and is

cooler, more durable and safer than artificial turn.

The design also features areas for engagement with nature, plenty of shade and a unique custom built set of playground equipment.

Nature Play

This area is dedicated to playing in and experiencing native soil & plants types.

Shade and Seating

Wrap-around shade cover on the West side of the building and plenty of shade trees throughout.

Play Equipment

Custom play equipment like this oversized play hammock platforms and climbing nets.

Tetherball is a classic recess game. This tetherball station has a clay surface and built in tetherball poles.

Another

Soccer Football

Volleyball

Tetherball

Basketball

Foursquare

Unique opportunity for student education and community collaboration in an outdoor, discovery laboratory.

El Camino Real Academy

Gabriel Raab-Faber

Current Site Condition

Proposed Site Condition

FORENSICS & ECOLOGY LAB

Proposed Use for the South Lot

Science Exploration at ECRA

With this large unoccupied lot, El Camino Real Academy has a great opportunity to expand the services provided to the students. By converting the empty space into an extension of the life sciences and forensics classes, ECRA can create a completely unique school environment attracting students and giving opportunities for collaboration with other schools and colleges. Most students freely admit that they are bored at school and wish

it was more interesting. Having class time spent outside in a one-of-a-kind laboratory with simulated real-life opportunities would be a perfect way to grab student attention. The novel research opportunities would also attract college level students and educators and potentially offer on campus dual credit opportunities, which also motivates students and creates meaningful segues into college.

The empty lot on the southern part of the campus is a perfect place to create a unique learning experience, making ECRA a destination STEAM school.

Site Uses

Interconnections

Ecology Research

Outdoor hybrid class Ecology and Forensics Lab Stormwater Lab

The various proposed uses for the lot are all intended to be integrated to maximize the usability.

For comparison, the site has a gradation of restored ecology to disturbed ecology

Isleta BLVD SW CaminodelValleSW

Isleta BLVD SW CaminodelValleSW

Isleta BLVD SW CaminodelValleSW

Strategic Plan

Biology and other forms of life sciences are much more fascinating to learn with real life examples. It makes the material more memorable and more applicable. This outdoor lab offers opportunities for stormwater remediation and ecology restoration with control areas and many variables to keep the curriculum fresh and interesting.

CSI

Stormwater Lab

Comparative Restoration

Ecology Control Zones

The field of criminal justice is expanding and becoming more specialized. It’s becoming more common for subjects in criminal justice to be offered in schools and colleges, so the site is integrated with opportunities to forensics, mock crime scene investigation, forensic anthropology and mock archeology sites.

Archeology

Forensic Anthropology

Students can learn what urban storm water quality looks like and processes of remediation.

Control Pond

Students can compare restored native and perpetually disturbed ecologies.

Protected site act as control studies to compare with the rest of the site.

Fish Preservation

Mock crime scenes to practice techniques and get students excited about higher education.

Mock archeology digs to get students interested in archeology and anthropology sciences.

Old crime scenes are usually solved through techniques of forensic anthropology.

Students can use this lined “clean” pond to compare with the storm water ponds.

A green house for exotic plants, and hydroponics to demonstrate different types of biology.

Greenhouse

Fish enclosures to teach about how to preserve endangered fish like the Silvery Minnow.

El Camino Real Academy | Strategic Plan

CREATING A SOCIAL COMMONS

Facilitating healthy social interaction within an inclusive and equitable educational environment through planning & design.

UNM SA+P

Design and Planning Assistance Center 2020

Team:

Dillon Romero - MArch

Sebastian Frances - MLA

Tahsin Zaman - MArch

Galeb Sandoval - MArch

Jaziel Cervantes - MArch

Design Principles

SOCIAL COMMONS

Mission Statement + Design Principles

Our design mission is facilitating a healthy social interaction within an inclusive and equitable educational environment. We are able to work towards our goal by focusing on these design principles:

Connecting aspects and main actors of campus through communal and common ground. The creation of social spaces

Experiencing the simplicity of the gathering spaces’ design

Enhancing a healthy learning environment through a variety of daylighting compositions.

Enhancing learning through social and environmental interactions.

Rebuilding an inclusive experience through Universally accessible design strategies.

PHASED STRATEGIC EXPANSION

El Camino Real Campus

Thelongfacadeofthe mainECRAbuilding providesastrong barrier for the main outdoor circulation pathway.Optimization alongthispathwaycan greatlyimprovethe qualityofcirculation between the main buildingandauxiliary structures. Optimization in this location will improvethequality of transition between outdoor activities and indoor classroom time.

Optimizationalongthis corridor will increase facadevalueandimprove self worth while reenteringthebuildingafter outdoor activities.

Strategic Plan

The multi phase expansion plan of ECRA is developed to optimize social interaction and community building within the campus.

The expanded ECRA focuses inward onto a proposed commons, stretching the full length of campus. The commons works to connect all buildings and areas on campus to each other and provide centralized gathering space in addition to optimizing the circulation of the institution’s existing and new buildings.

The proposed master plan creates a distinct relationship between ECRA and Bernalillo County, cementing the relationship of the school and the community with additional community assets and amenities.

Connecting aspects and campus actors through communal and common ground. The creation of social space and circulation.

Facilitating a healthy social interaction within an inclusive and equitable educational environment.

Strategic Plan | Phasing

The multi phase expansion plan of ECRA is developed to optimize social interaction and community building within the campus.

The six-phased plan begins with the creation of a lateral access road and drop off loop. This new road connects the main campus with the proposed Bernalillo County maintained recreational facility. This new outdoor facility is shared between schooltime use and community use during the off hours. The new community space is adaptable for neighborhood events and school organizations; during regular hours the new outdoor facility functions as a neighborhood park and open space.

The new campus layout increases classroom space with two new educational buildings and two new auxiliary buildings along one centralized corridor.

Facilitating a healthy social interaction within an inclusive and equitable educational environment.

A1

Existing Phase

Existing site work consists of large areas of empty field and brush. Site borders undeveloped. Minimal circulation between buildings.

Phase 1

Construction of Western access road. Begin development of Countyfacilitated park and amenities.

A2 Phase 2

A3

Construction of new Admin and Education building on western edge of campus. Begin use of new Access loop.

A4

Phase 3

Redevelopment of systems within existing (Piggly Hall) education building. HVAC, Gas, Plumb and Data to be renetworked.

A5

Phase 4

Strategic Plan | Final Phase

Facilitating a healthy social interaction within an inclusive and equitable educational environment.

Strategic Plan | Final Phase

Dynamic Parking Area

Centralized Management Center provides streamlined delivery access for cafeteria and convenient storage for landscaping equipment.

Multiple community assets within County MOU Area provide pleasant and accessible places for the school’s neighbors.

Elongated parking corner allows for multiple uses. Dynamic space integrates space for food trucks and larger mobile installations.

Dual Access road and Student drop off loop allows for easy flow of students before and after school.

Centralized Campus Circulation optimizes movabiltiy between educational builidngs and auxilliary facilities.

New amphitheater located for extension into grass commons for extra large functions (graduations).

Existing E xterior & Interior Conditions

The gazebo and playground sits on top of an uneven surface and loose dirt which makes it challenging to access.

Hallway emergency exits and access to outdoors suffer uneven paving and pot holes that can be dangerous to all.

Similar wall colors on hallways can be confusing for younger students and can affect their orientation.

Paved areas work as the circulation between facilities, but the conditions they are in lack easy access and use.

Uneven floors transitioning to hallways can be a hazard to anyone circulating through the school.

El Camino Real Campus

El Camino Real Academy Charter School is part of the Adobe Acres neighborhood located in the south valley area of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Being a community school, ECRA serves all students and their family’s by acknowledging all student’s personal potential through academic and social-emotional interventions. It is part of their philosophy that “a student who feels connected to the school is more likely to stay in school.” There for, a campus that engages with all current enrolled students and future ones, is very important for their education and learning.

The existing conditions of the school has several challenges that can affect the learning of the students, and the way the staff can engage with them. The exterior circulation of the school is poorly designed and not in the best conditions, there are few sidewalks, emergency exits with no accessible function and lack of connection to common areas such as existing playgrounds and possible outdoor learning spaces. The interior of the school, where elementary and secondary students spends their day, faces lack of color and lighting which can affect the self-esteem, mood and their learning capabilities.

Precedent Study Universal Design Principles Design Process Diagram

Hazelwood Elementary School

Glasgow, Scotland

Gordan Murray and Alan Dunlop Architects

The key priorities for the client were a building that would facilitate learning, independence and experience by students with any ability that would be safe but also challenging. The playground furnishings and material choices enable children the freedom to play and take risks at their own level and contribute to success navigation.

Universal design is an approach to designing a space that can be used by everyone regardless of their abilities and disabilities. The importance of incorporating Universal Design is to facilitate the life of a wide range of individuals and help them interact with a space so they can feel inclusive and be able to engage with one another. It can also reduce stigma by putting everyone on an equal playing field and supports them in being more self-reliant and socially engaged, therefore Universal Design should be considered a process rather than an end state.

There are seven principles of Universal design that focuses on the involvement of everyone without singling out those with disabilities, the principles are:

Accessibility: The design is useful and markable to people with diverse disabilities.

Flexibility in Use: The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.

Participatory: Use of the design is easy to participate, regardless of the experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.

Perceptible Information: The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user’s sensory abilities.

Tolerance of Error: The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.

Low Physical Effort: The design can be used efficiently and comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue.

Size and Space for Approach and Use: Appropriate size and space are provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use, regardless of user’s body size, posture, or mobility.

Analyze the existing conditions of the schools exterior circulation and approach to playgrounds.

Designing a network of sidewalks providing a connected circulation between facilities and future green spaces

Rearranging the placement of playgrounds and study areas for better usage of space.

Applying the Universal Design Principles, removing sharp turns for maximum mobility, and designing flexible study areas and playgrounds.

Proposed ECRA Campus/Statement

The importance of working towards a Universally Accessible Design for El Camino Real Academy is to facilitate the experience of students through their school by incorporating universally accessible outdoor flexible spaces, designated resting areas, accessible network of sidewalks, paving pattern and contrasting colors to the design, all these are necessary for all students to have a positive experience improve their learning capabilities and feel inclusive regardless of their age and abilities. These renovations will give the school the oportunity to open its doors to all more students, help the staff engage with their students staff and be able to bring the community of different ages together.

A. Contrasting paving pattern through the exterior paths, creates a trail that is multi-use. It is used to help students of any age navigate the new couryard paved areas and can teach younger students to be independent and self-reliant, while it can also help those who may have a disability facilitate their circulation between the new outdoor flexible spaces.

B. Paths, playgrounds, learning spaces and grass areas are designed with curved extremities avoiding sharp turns which can be a hazard for circulation.

C. All playgrounds have contrasting bright colored bound rubber and are connected to one another by the same material which provides soft surfaces for students of different ages and provide freedom to play as much as possible at his or her own level.

Playground 1 - Aerial View

Providing a central, curved amphitheater for multi-use purposes creates an engaging experience for all students and is strategically designed to be accesses from all directions.

The design of all playgrounds have different equipment for students of all ages and gives them an equal opportunity to explore, gain confidence and expand their skills while practicing social skills interactions.

A.

B.

C.

Amphitheater - South View

ECRA Existing Conditions

When walking through the halls of the El Camino Real Academy, the only area the building receives the greatest portion of natural daylighting is the front facade. The south side of the building provide a very small amount of daylighting and is supplemented with artificial florescent lighting. Throughout the interior of the building, the classrooms are provided with insufficient artificial lighting and no daylighting at all.

0% RATIOWINDOW-WALL

77 OF THE K-8 BUILDING HAS NO DAYLIGHTING

0% RATIOWINDOW-WALL

DAYLIGHTING STRATEGIES

Design Concept

The proposed strategy is to flood the classrooms as much daylight as possible. To do this, a rooftop clerestory baffle system is proposed to bring in and diffuse sunlight from the south. In the classrooms, walls will replaced with storefront windows but could have blinds installed or window film for privacy. The interior walls that connect the rooms will have the intent of having clerestory window that will help daylight transfer across the interior of the building.

Roof

Facade Improvements

A Kalwall system on the facade would bring natural daylight into the main corridor.

Interior Walls

The highlighted area is where the clerestory and storefront windows are in action.

Roof Clerestory & Baffle System

The roof will be creating an angled gesture. This then allows the clerestory windows on the roof to bring in natural sunlight into the building which clashes with metal opaque slat that results in diffusing the light into the classrooms which in turn illuminates the room.

This below is how the classrooms are put together with the clerestory baffle systems and the outside walls of the rooms that will have glazing installed. The most logical arrangement for the classrooms can be either set side to side or back to back.

Facade Improvements

The Kalwall system is a building panel wall system that is meant to diffuse light. The goal here is the bring in as much daylight as possible into the main corridor so that way the daylight transfers into the hallways and classrooms.

EXISTING FACADE

NORTH

CLERESTORY

Case Study

CANADA STREET

Architect: Wingate & Farquhar

This building is a commercial setting with a showroom as a production gallery. It was the perfect opportunity to install the kalwall system. It diffused the daylight into the space without no solar glare.

BAFFLE SYSTEM

CLERESTORY ROOF

SUMMER WINTER

Case Study | Columbine Elementary - Denver, Colorado

Renovated Classrooms with Connected Courtyards

Renderings

Research shows that children often experience difficulties at school for a variety of reasons.

Architecture, interior, and landscape design, can improve learning environments by providing inspiring spaces, created to challenge students and integrate learning their environment.

El Camino Real Academy | Strategic Plan

NEW SCHOOL ECOLOGIES

UNM SA+P

Design and Planning Assistance Center 2020

Team:

Rym Naji - Master of Architecture

Isabella Giovana Grier - Master of Architecture

Sam Eberle - Master of Architecture

Eirini Noutasi - Master of Landscape Architecture

Paniz Peik - Master of Landscape Architecture

John Owen - Master of Landscape Architecture

Design Principles

Promote Water Collection & Reuse

Increase Sense of Exploration and Interest in Landscape

Utilize Existing Structures for New Dynamic Spaces Improve Interior Circulation & Wayfinding

Improve Circulation Through Campus

Elevate Play & Whimsy

NEW SCHOOL ECOLOGIES

Proposed “Wellness Center”

Open, dynamic, community space

Project Statement

Research shows that children and youth (with or without underlying challenges) sometimes experience difficulty at school for a variety of reasons. Kids struggling with expectations or identity crises, suffer the most from these confined uninspiring spaces.

Analyzing the site from both interior and exterior perspectives, the architectural design concept offers inspiring spaces created to challenge and improve the unique learning environment cultivated by the ECRA curriculum. Our design proposal includes accessible spatial wellness environments for the general student population, as well as the youth of ECRA who may need help to better manage and support their mental health.

A section of the design team developed a naturalistic, multifunctional schoolyard and playscape based on existing water drainage zones. The new outdoor environment uses a variety of materials, to offer a diverse outdoor experience. Berms and intertwined explorative pathways with resting, educational, and play areas were created to accustom the wide range of ages, as well as the seasonal changes. In addition, playground ideas and spaces were designed to cater to three different age categories: 4-5 (kindergartens), 6-13 (elementary/ middle school), and 13-18 (high school), to accommodate the changing and growing needs of ECRA students.

Proposed Strategic Framework Plan

SPATIAL REORGANIZATION

Creating Efficient Circulation

The different spaces within ECRA are organized in such a way that efficient interior circulation is unattainable. Most of the classrooms are placed away from the exterior walls, making access to daylight impossible. A more efficient spacial organization strategy would be to put classrooms and administration offices around the edge of the building, with spaces like gymnasuims, libraries, and computer labs in the center. This allows spaces with longer occupancy times access to daylight. It also lends to more efficient circulation within the building via a simple loop of hallways.

HOWL Store

Admin Office

Classroom

Library

Gymnasium

Computer Lab

Special Services

Restroom

Storage

Cafeteria

E cient circulation is extremely important for a school. The building needs to facilitate the movement of hundreds of people thoughout the day so they can spend their time e ciently, and get out in case of an emergency.

Rearranging the classrooms around the exterior sides of the building will guarantee that each classroom is given access to daylighting, while the less used spaces (computer lab, library, etc) are moved toward the center of the building.

An atrium placed at the nexus point of the halls will help add much needed light to the center part of the building, while also providing a common gathering space.

Creating additions to the school will make El Camino Real Academy a one building school. Keeping the existing buildings that are currently located, the school will gain interior spaces that the students and the public can use with large crowds of people being involved; these additions being: an indoor concourse and a cafeteria.

In the new scheme, I decided to take advantage of the playground located between the gymnasium and the main building and turn it into a cafeteria. The school currently does not have a cafeteria, and we received many complaints from the children about having to eat lunch in the gym. Doing this also gave us opportunities to bring in lots of daylight for this new space and show case color in the interior space.

Existing Building

Lisle Elememtary, Perkins + Will, IL, 2019

School of Engineers, France, ANMA, 2013

Holiday Craft Market, LA

New Cafeteria Space

Children learn skills outdoor that cannot learn indoor. According to researchers they develop better communication patterns among them when they spend time outdoors. They gain more self confidence and have less hyperactive disorders. Kids are put in a lot of pressure from regular schools and families and are stopped to be what they want to be. (Thoughts from the Forest Kindergarten-Switzerland)

The school director talked about a picturesque yet sustainable landscape with wild flowers, naturally shaded with trees sitting areas, natural playground and amphitheater which would also serve for outdoor classes as well as performance activities of the school. She also spoke of vegetable garden that would involve parents and community.

With this thoughts I propose ideas for a natural(istic) multi-play schoolyard where I hope teachers and children would be able to spend more time at.

vegetable garden and raising chicken-children participate

NATURE PLAY SCHOOLYARD

Unfolding Landscape

the landscape was conseived as unfolding with berms and entwined paths around them to encourage explortion. A mix use and age school yard where everybody can learn from each other. Play elements are scattered throught the entire site among resting and strolling areas and outdoor classrooms.

berms and pathways

berms and outdoor rooms

see saw-reclaimed wood raw material play swing and balance using raw material structure

caves and tunnels

open classroom in the veg garden

play elements

top of berm- shade trees and perrenial planting slide play

berm- shrub, perrenial, wild flowers and grass plantingslide play

submerged amphitheater surrounded by shade trees perrenial and shrub planting

Concept: South Schoolyard

submerged basketball court-permeable ground- surrounded by shade trees shrub planting

main walking and biking paths-permeable paving

berm- shrub, perrenial, wild flowers and grass plantingslide play-slide play

swale- shade trees planting

swale- perrenial, shrubs, wild flowers, grass planting

play elements-music, balance

basin-meadow wild flowers and scaterred smaller trees planting

top of berm- shade trees and perrenial planting slide play

Biofiltration Basin-Swales Cut & Fill Estimate

The berms not only add to the naturalistic feel of the schoolyard, but also are essential to stormwater management.

30,000 cubic yards average volume of berms on the south side

biofiltration basin

4:1 min slope

water flow

planting soil bed 4’ min

7,425 square yards average basin area

gravel curtain drain for over flow

12”sand bed

pipe under-drain system to storm drainage

bioswale

4feet deep average basin depth (excavated) to create the berm and balance cut/fill

and

Sections: South Schoolyard

The proposed submerged amphitheater can serve for the school performances as well as outdoor classroom. The area is surrounded by shade trees such as London Plane, Japanese Pagoda and berms with pathways and perennial/wild flower gardens.

Amphitheater & Play Element : music/sound

Play Element : balance-concentration

shade tree planting pathways on the berm- native grass and wildflower mix

perennial

shrub garden on swale

amphitheater precedents

floating small ( tea)house shade tree planting

pathway-polymer natural soil-permeable paving

constructed from row material and next to raw material

meadow mix planting

Play with tree trunks as one would play in the woods that is next to a structure of raw material would be an interesting combination in terms of perception. Also, included a structure of peculiar character. In this case, a precedent of a floating tea house has been chosen

Sections: South Schoolyard

stroll in wooded alley-swale

bioswale with perennial and wild flower mix planting

raw material nature play

floating tea house precedent play construction precedent

berms of small size-material:polymer permeable natural soil

smaller tree planting in between berms

berm with pathway: mulch, perennial and grass planting

shade tree planting

Sections: North Schoolyard

custom made see saw -reclaimed wood & meadow mix planting

activity areas for elementary school in between smaller berms at the front of it.

Miniature bridges and colorful cubes of various heights create mini landscapes within the landscape

slides, see saws, caves and swings scattered around an unfolding natural mini scape of berms and paths.

school gardens-open classrooms

bio-swales, perrenial- shrub-grass planting and trees

Sections: North Schoolyard

berms-pathways

berms-outdoor rooms

permeable paving-muddy puddle path for rainy days

suggested trees for the entire site

outdoor sitting-open classroom precedent

a strolling area with educational and botanic character also.

A concentrated perennial and wild flower garden where children learn on life cycle

A shaded area in between the two berms serves for open classroom or just sitting.

ciberian ash london plane chinese pistaschio honey locust black locust mexican edelberry

vitex rose of sharon

INTEGRATED PLAYSCAPES

El Camino Real Academy

My focus in this project is on the integrated playgrounds for three different age categories; 4-6, 7-13 and 13-18 years old to accommodate the changing and growing needs of these students. Also I tried to place my idea in the zone with berms to help kids experience more natural space.

Zone A

This Idea is considered for 4-6 (kindergartens). Based on some research, it is important for them to strength their feet and hand’s muscles so that it can prepare them to do some basic activities like to tie their shoes, pushing a button, zip up their coat, etc.

Zone B

In this idea, that is designed for 7-13 years old students, there are more challenging and exciting activities based on their interest. For instance, they rather like to achieve something difficult and that makes them feel confidence.

Zone C

This design is located in the south part of the site plan. I thought this might be favorable for high school students because in this age, which is sensitive and special, sometimes they tend to talk and spend time for taking some rest rather than to do a special activity.

Zone D

This is a multi-functional play field for basketball, volleyball and soccer also for older students. The play tools are removable for each purpose.

Middle

Sitting

Developing flexibility, dexterity, and strength muscles will allow kindergartner take care of himself in a number of important ways, such as using the bathroom and buttoning up his own pants. He’ll also be able to tie his own shoes, zip up his coat, and other such self-help skills. This skill is the precursor for total self-help and independence.

Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles, sometimes in conjunction with other children or adult caregivers. As they master their world, play helps children develop new competencies that lead to enhanced confidence and the resiliency they will need to face future challenges. Undirected play allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, to resolve conflicts, and to learn self-advocacy skills.

Existing site image

A Proposed Playground for Kindergartens

Existing site image

B Proposed Playground for Middle and Elementary School

This is a space for students to take a rest and talk to each other especially it is considered for the 13-18 years old teenagers. Being a teenager, beginning to be an adult has its own pressures. They might be willing to spend some time with their friends or think. In this design, they can sit on the benches or lay on the grass and make themselves comfortable.

CThis design also is considered for teenagers who likes to take action rather than sitting and thinking. This play field is multifunctional and students can play basketball, soccer and volleyball. Play equipments for each play category is removable and it is possible to manage for different activities. Playing a sport teaches teenagers many valuable life skills including leadership, the value of teamwork and cooperation. They also learn how to handle stress and pressure, set goals and work hard to reach a goal. All of these experiences will help teenagers learn how to work with others as well as become easy to work with later in life, whether it’s at home, at school or on the job.

Proposed Sitting Area for Students

Proposed Playfield for High School Students

Existing Site

CHALLENGES/ OPPORTUNITIES

No shade

Lack of usable space

No outdoor classroom area

No defined area for drop off and pick up

No potential for water harvesting

No potential for solar energy

ClintonBlvdSW

SHADE STRUCTURE

Creating Multi-Functional Spaces

Currently, the intense sun exposure in the schoolyard at El Camino Real Academy creates an uncomfortable outdoor environment, not well suited for learning outside with no sheltered area for pick up and drop off close to the school building. In this project I decided to work on north side of the back schoolyard, proposing a potential quick win that could improve the efficiency and function of the space.

Through the exploration and explanation of the existing problems, solutions begin to emerge. In this space I’ve proposed a shade structure that also serves multiple purposes of outdoor classrooms where students can sit and study or teachers can teach them in a separated area with shade. The other component of the design is a waiting area for pick up and drop off so that parents and students can sit and wait under the shade. Also, I tried to consider two systems to benefit solar energy during the summer and precipitation during the winter, on the proposed shade structure.

In the last ECRA project I focused on play objects for playground to work from a landscape view, however, in this step I found it interesting to work a little on interiorexterior part of the building. since I have a interior architecture background.

The site plan below is the proposed design and the site map on the left is the existing site.

Proposed area for pick up- drop off

Proposed waiting area

Proposed outdoor classrooms

Existing trees

Proposed storage for water harvesting and solar energy

Design Process

Looking to create something more functional than a simple flat or sloping roof , the design considers how useful it can be in the seasonal climate.

Renderings

Start with a simple roof

orientation effects the right side of the building the most, the curtain can be draw down to avoid it. for water reservation, I considered the center of the roof. The slopes can help water run between the roofs and pour into the storage inside of the building.

Consider the benefits of two different roof angles

2 3

Integrate practical strategies for water harvesting

Proposed area for pick up- drop off

Proposed outdoor classrooms

Precedents & Renderings

There are some samples for shade structures that I found them inspiring from ArchDaily website. They are existing projects from campus and college. really liked the wood material and the atmosphere that it makes, however in the proposed design I replaces it with concrete for more durability.

In this proposed outdoor classroom, students can learn and play outside. Tress create shade in this spot

This is the proposed area for pick up- drop off. Shade area provides a comfortable place for parents and students to sit and wait. Also the added street creates a safe area for pick up and drop off without causing traffic in Clinton Blvd SW .

Universidad de la Sabana(colombia) - ArchDaily.com

Universidad de la Sabana(colombia) - ArchDaily.com

Desk Garden project (china) - ArchDaily.com

Accessibility

Adaptability

Ecological Learning

LEARN/PLAY ENVIRONMENTS

Flexible outdoor areas for diverse students

The students of ECRA have a diversity of learning styles, interests, and cultural backgrounds. This diversity calls for adaptable spaces that can grow and change over time with the students. Utilizing design principles of accessibility, adaptability, and ecological learning, a system of learn/ play environments are proposed to provide cost effective, dynamic outdoor spaces for students and teachers.

Gutierrez-Hubbell House

A South Valley historical landmark, the Hubbell House provides cues for creating comfortable, outdoor environments. This study informed the learning environments described above.

Integrating Design

The design principles of ecological learing, accessibility, and adaptability are all combined in a single learn/play environment. These environments allow for flexible uses at multiple scales and can be placed throughout the site as needs arise.

Adaptability

Ecological Learning

Green, Adaptive Learning Environment

ACCESSIBLE SLOPE

SHADE TREES

MODULAR POSTS

“GRADE GARDEN”

TURF GRASS

Adaptable outdoor spaces

Outdoor Classroom

The modular posts within each environment can accommodate a wide range of educational tools including: blackboard, bulletin boards, and film projection screens.

Amphitheater

There are nearly endless possibilities for students to express themselves in the outdoor environments. Including plays and performances.

Vision on the Site

The outdoor environment design can be scaled and replicated throughout the site. Injecting green space, shade, and enclosures will enhance students’ comfort, curiosity and learning potential.

NEXT STEPS

To help guide how this compilation of work can contribute to the future of El Camino Real Academy, the following offers some initial ideas and potential funding resources for consideration.

Internal review of the projects

Provide an opportunity for administration, faculty, staff, and select students to review the document. Internally discuss to determine next steps for refinements of content (if needed), and consider the potential of an ECRA faculty/student-led initiative to share the work and gather feedback.

ECRA student developed website and survey

To gather feedback ECRA students could develop a website and survey as part of a class or extracurricular project. The website and survey could be distributed to the ECRA community and would help to identify those projects that resonate with the community and identify where more information/feedback/work is needed.

Refined strategic framework plan and vision for ECRA

With an idea of which projects generate the greatest interest and/or hold the potential to be the most feasible, incorporate those ideas into the overall strategic framework plan for the school. Projects and initiatives should clearly identify both tangible near-term and long-range goals.

Explore future design projects and support

With more specific projects identified within an overall strategic framework plan, explore the potential for future studio projects or collaboration with a local design firm. Identify potential funding opportunities through supporting foundations and grants programs. The resources and links below highlight a few of the many funding opportunities to support landscape improvements – improving environmental quality, health, and wellness.

Landscape Structures Grant Resources Webpage

Manufacturer and supplier of playground equipment with a comprehensive listing of grant resources for schools and communities – supporting health, wellness, and youth/ community development.

NM Specific Grants focused on community, health, and wellness

Nationwide grants for education, environment, & youth

US EPA Green Infrastructure Support

Numerous funding opportunities and grants to support green infrastructure

Stormwater and Green Infrastructure Support

Urban Waters Small Grants

Environmental Justice Small Grants

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Ecology and environment focused grants which could support implementation of water quality measures and use of native plants at ECRA.

Resilient Communities Program

Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grant Program

Southwest Rivers Program

Rio Grande Program

UNM

SPRING 2020