CU students help Galapagos Islands stay sustainable through architecture
A five-week internship in the Galapagos Islands inspired senior architecture major Andrew Peterson to do more with his work stateside. Peterson started the Friends of the Galapagos student group as a means to promote environmentally friendly architecture.
The group is composed of architecture students whose purpose is to create a short, 16-page booklet about the basic concepts needed to build sustainable architecture with native materials of the area.
“The most difficult part for me is researching the types of materials that are available in the Galapagos Islands,” said junior advertising major Jennifer Payne. “What is readily available here in the states may be impossible to find there. We have to think of details, down to which direction the sun rises to make the building compatible for solar energy.”
The group started collaborating in early September. Each member is assigned to cover certain aspects important to green architecture.
The booklet is to be simple and easy to understand, with more than 50 percent of content in diagrams.
The project isn’t as easy as it may seem. The group is still waiting to hear back from the university about grant money.
As of now, the group receives the majority of funding from The Spanish Organization for International Cooperation. This organization funds non-profit projects and is paying for 5,000 copies of the booklet to be published and distributed.
The free pamphlet is for developers or anyone interested in building sustainable architecture around the islands.
The student group is a CU affiliate spearheaded by the dean of Environmental Design, Peter Schneider. It also works with the Galapagos Islands National Park and the Organization for Economic Development on Isabella Island.
Peterson said the booklet should be completed by the end of April. If the group receives grant funding, it will take a two-week trip to the islands this summer to host a workshop and complete a design build as an example of the concepts mentioned in the guide.
“My emphasis is on sustainable development,” Peterson said. “This project is important to me because I feel that we have the ability to make a global influence on something that needs attention.”
Contact Campus Press staff writer Tate Delloye at tate.delloye@thecampuspress.com.
