Cal Earth Vault Village Assessment and Conceptual Design

1. Cal Earth Vault Village Assessment and Conceptual Design Prepared By: Mary Kate Carter, Doug Alber, Crystal Torres, & Cathy Makunga October 18, 2013

2. Vision for the Property & Design;As shared by HoomanFazly. The permaculture design that follows addresses these objectives. Provide Housing for up to 15 Students • Dormitories • N/W Vault to house 3 students • Southern Vault to house 12 students • Full bathroom facilities • Kitchen • Common living space • Create outdoor group gathering and individual contemplative space

3. Provide designated vault for hands-on workshops and/or lecture space • Manage potential black-water (i.e. grease/degreaser) • Ensure easy access from the west and the south for people & equipment • Maintain good ventilation of building • Ensure appropriate vehicle access to area

4. Install plants that are relatively maintenance free: • Grow with little or no attendance • Hearty & perennial • Readily edible • Students can harvest yields when on campus

5. Re-Vegetate Landscape: • Create a denser plant environment • Use plants that are native to landscape • Work within existing desert habitat • Protected plant species cannot be disturbed

6. Use Water Beneficially • Black-water systems • Potentially homemade septic system • Plan for 30’ leech line placement • Grey-water systems • Use water on the landscape • Employ proper drainage for landscape and excavation pit • Establish water catchment within “village” & along the fence • Prepare for occasional large flooding phenomenon

7. Design Retaining Wall • Non-linear • Stack functions • Interact with existing habitat • Create micro-environments for humans & plants

8. The Assessment

10. Description of Property and Area • Property is located in Hesperia, CA - San Bernadino County • Building site approximately 22,500 sq ft. • Elevation 3700 ft • Long/Lat. -- Coordinates: 34°24′46″N 117°18′22″W • Annual Rainfall is approximately 6” • Wide swing in temperatures: summer high of 101 and down to low 30’s in the winter months • Dominant Wind Directions are from the North/West during the winter and from the South/West during the summer months

14. Topography: • Google Earth map elevation features identified that the land has only a very slight slope (2%); • Moving from SW to NE with a total drop in elevation of 6ft from corner to corner (600ft run) • Excavation will introduce a cavity that drops courtyard to 5ft below current grade

15. Soils: • The predominant soil classification is Cajon Sand. Soil has a high drainage rate of 13in/hour. Organic matter is virtually non-existent. Therefore conditioning with organic matter and holding water on the land will be necessary to produce healthy plants and good yields.

16. Design

17. Initial Layout Design

18. Early Design Strategies • Hold water on the landscape • Solutions for retaining wall • Maximize edge zones • Create learning environments & Build community among residents • Build density of native landscape & introduce compatible vegetation • Slow and Steady Solutions • Low maintenance design

19. Vault Village Design

20. Hold Water on Landscape • Put in porous pavement on west and southern paths to village along with installation of French drains • Capture rain drainage from vaults and direct to water holding areas • Route vault 1 dormitory greywater to reed planters then onto northern landscape • Route vault 3 dormitory greywater to mulberry food forest to the south • Put in dry wells on SW corner and NE corners of village • Put in swale on contour along Northern fence • Install drainage tubes through retaining wall at critical spots

21. Water Management

22. Solutions for Retaining Wall • Build in water containment & treatment • Double helix – organically inspired design that will allow for installation of planters, intimate/contemplative seating areas, & stairs for access to higher elevation • Maximize edge zones – life flourishes • Arch shaped windows on upper margin of wall to provide a “rabbit view” of landscape and provide access zones for wildlife traffic

25. Create learning environments & Build community among residents • Amphitheater seating for gathering • Dedicated classroom vault • Communal living spaces • Micro-food forest in existing rest area

26. Workshop Vault Door

27. Build density of native landscape & introduce compatible vegetation • Existing native plants will be relocated along northern & eastern fences during the excavation process • Plant additional trees/guilds suitable to desert environment to support water retention • Create perennial food forest within established & productive micro-climate on western corridor of village • Organic form of wall works with existing & protected vegetation allowing for experimental permaculture landscaping options

28. Compatible Plants:Northern CorridorHoney Mesquite

29. Compatible Plants: Eastern CorridorBanana Yucca

30. Compatible Plants Eastern CorridorPomegranate

31. Compatible Plants:Southern CorridorMulberry

32. Compatible PlantsFood Forest • Ground Cherry • Grapes • Jerusalem Artichokes • Rosemary • Bramble

33. Design it to be low maintenance • Allwatering through passive systems • Gravity & Rain • Greywater diversion • Perennial plants • Passive solar heating and ventilation

34. Slow and Steady Solutions • Phased building plan may extend over several seasons • Students will contribute to building structures and planting landscape • Continued observation of plant vitality & integration w/landscape • Observe effect of new micro-climates

35. Vault Village Design