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Living and Learning Sustainability at the Center forRegenerative Studies

Project: John T. Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies,California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Contact: 909-869-5155/ crs@csupomona.edu

Location: Pomona, CA

Demonstration

The Center for Regenerative Studies is a uniqueuniversity setting that combines residential, agricultural,and educational uses to reinforce their mission of “furthering education, demonstration, and research ofregenerative and sustainable practices.”

Front entry to community building that houses kitchen, dining, andmeeting areas. (Photo credit: Margot McDonald)

Project Description

The Cal Poly-Pomona Center for Regenerative Studieswas twenty years in the making and only realized in1994 thanks to generous donations of the W. K. KelloggFoundation, Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts,Ahmanson Foundation, and private individual support.Landscape Architecture Professor and Architect, John T.Lyle provided the inspiration and long-term commitmentto developing and testing the concept through designstudios at Cal Poly Pomona, finally resulting in afunded project. The 16-acre site located between the maincampus and a county landfill was developed to supportenvironmentally friendly examples of buildings andlandscapes. There are two residential buildings, a mixed-use classroom/laboratory/office building, and a“commons” with kitchen, meeting, and dining space forstudents, faculty, staff, and guests. The newest buildingis a demonstration straw bale greenhouse. The Centercurrently houses about twenty residents but has thecapacity to grow to 90.

The landscape provides a rich array of productive andbeautiful elements such as aquaculture ponds, wildlifehabitat restoration, garden terracing using recycledmaterials, and a Solar Park.

The buildings utilize passive solar strategies for heatingand cooling. Each residence demonstrates a differenttechnique: the “River Front” building is based on directgain (south facing windows and thermal mass) forheating in the winter season and shading plusevaporative cooling for the warm summers. The otherresidence, “Sun Space,” is earth-tempered, with thebuilding’s north side resting against a natural hill slope,providing more stable interior temperatures in bothwinter and summer. The mixed-use classroom has a two-storey south facing sunspace combined with shading andoperable windows to avoid overheating. The commonspace emphasizes daylighting and natural ventilationthrough clerestory windows. Internal loads from thekitchen and people reduce the need for supplementalheating. The south façade of the building has ahorizontal trellis that creates comfortable exteriorconditions as well as reduces cooling loads. Buildingsare constructed out of durable, recycled content,sustainably harvested, and low toxicity materials.

Electricity is produced on-site at the Solar Park that alsoserves as a demonstration facility. A Dish-Sterlingengine electricity as well as two tracking photovoltaicarrays that together produce approximately 60kWh on anaverage day. The adjacent landfill is also a potentialsource of methane gas that could be used for cooking,transportation, and other purposes to replace natural gas.

While the buildings offer good illustrations of solar andsustainable design, the wide range of landscape featuresis where the Center truly excels as exemplary ofregenerative and highly productive systems. Theintegration of land-food-energy-shelter systems creates agenuine living-learning center on campus.

Examples of Sustainable andRegenerative Landscape Design andIntegrated Waste Management

• Food Production: There are numerouspermaculture gardens (a term that refers tobuildings and landscapes that function as naturalsystems) including hillside planted terraces builtfrom recycled automobile tires. To demonstrateurban agriculture, edible landscapes have been

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integrated in spaces between, around, and on top ofbuildings. A handicapped ramp that accesses theroof top level, for example, contains a variety ofvegetables and vines. Planter boxes can also befound at the roof level. Drip irrigation is usedthroughout the project.

• Aquaculture: Fish production also takes place atthe Center. Species such as tilapia are cultivated fortheir high protein content and fast growingcharacteristics. Aquaculture will be integrated intothe wastewater treatment system at a future date.

• Compost: Kitchen scraps and other biodegradableitems are turned into soil nutrients by vermiculture(worm composting) and traditional compost piletechniques.

• Green Manure: The large quantity of green wastegenerated by the intensive agriculture, creates anopportunity for legume or “green manure” that canbe used to improve and recondition the soil.

• On-site Wastewater Treatment: A centrallandscape feature to the project is the series ofearthen aquaculture ponds for wastewater treatmentcreating a focal point for the building complex.Outflow from the ponds is received by a surface,constructed wetlands. Some of the water isreclaimed for irrigation and eventually a portion ofthe water will be returned to the ponds by means ofa solar-driven pump.

• Anaerobic digestion: The Center hasexperimented with bio-gas digesters.

• Solid Waste Recycling: On-site collection ofrecyclable materials such as paper, glass, and metalwith materials transported to a recycling facility.

Examples of Reused and Recycled-Content Building Products

• Recycled Concrete: Concrete slabs were broken andreused on the site for retaining walls, garden pathsand patio areas.

• Exterior Siding: Buildings at the main complexare clad in reclaimed cedar horizontal siding.

• Alternative Construction: The incubatorgreenhouse building incorporates straw-bale wallsand cellulose ceiling insulation.

Examples of Sustainably Harvested orEnvironmentally Friendly BuildingProducts

• Roofing and Flashing: Copper was selected as theroof finish, flashing and drain system as a highlydurable and lasting material in an environment thatexperiences marine influences.

• Floor system: Stained concrete slab-on-grade wasused to provide exposed thermal mass to thebuildings.

• Interior Walls: Low VOC paints were used overrecycled gypsum board walls.

• Lighting: Electric lighting demands were reducedthrough daylighting techniques. Energy efficientfluorescent lamps and ballasts were used whenelectric lighting was required.

• Solar Electric (PV) system: Photovoltaic shinglesare incorporated into the south-facing roof of theincubator greenhouse building.

Curriculum

The Center for Regenerative Studies provides both aphysical and academic environment for learning. Coursework opportunities range from an introductory surveycourse to general education and design studios, a minoremphasis for students in other degree programs and mostrecently a Master’s degree in Regenerative Studies.

References

1. Bressi, Todd W. “Center for Regenerative Studies”,Places, Winter 1995, v.9, n.3, p.22-23.

2. “Building to recycle nature: a village for researchnear Los Angeles is designed to demonstrate re-source efficiency.” Architecture 1994 Dec., v.83,n.12, p.101-107.

3. http://www.efswest.org/resource_center/profiles/po mona.html (accessed 4/15/04)

4. http://www.csupomona.edu/~crs/ (accessed4/15/04)

5. Lyle, John Tillman. Regenerative design forsustainable development. New York: John Wiley,1994.

Notes: The identification of individuals, companies and products in these materials does not constitute endorsement by the CIWMB and is provided forinformational purposes only. The CIWMB is distributing this information in an effort to increase public awareness and knowledge about this importanttopic.