The following is an excerpt from the newsletter on the development of the Stone34 project, by Skanska. To subscribe to the e-newsletter, contact Linda Mitchell at linda@lindamitchell.org
A colony on…Mars?: Our Partnership with B.F. Day School
The Stone34 team is working with the B.F. Day Elementary School 5th grade science class to learn about the built environment with an emphasis on creating sustainable communities.
Guest speakers from Skanska, LMN Architects, geotechnical engineering firm PanGEO, and environmental consulting firm Farallon are building on the 5th graders ‘Systems and Subsystems’ lessons and explaining their roles in the Stone34 project. A building like Stone34 involves dozens of disciplines and hundreds of people, all working together to create the final product. It takes a community to effect change!
Tasked with establishing a viable and self-sustaining colony on Mars, the kids put their new knowledge of building codes and sustainable development to work. Some of their ideas:
- Solar panels are required (by code!) on roofs for household energy.
- Houses are to be built around the market for easy food access.
- All products used in the development must be made of recycled materials and must be able to be re-purposed into new products.
- There will be walking paths that lead to anywhere you want to go, like a neighborhood or downtown (giant conveyor belts were also very popular for longer distances and to move heavy equipment). “Rovers” are only available for exploration!
- The colony is designed with the downtown in the center so that people will gather and study together; this is where the school should be.
We think they’re on to something!
Thank you to Skanska for sharing that excerpt. For more information on the Stone34 development, visit the website – and check out the webcam on the site. As one regular Fremocentrist.com reader gushed, “The webcam at 34th & Stone is fun to watch!”