Sophomores presented the elements of their Sustainable City as part of their final assessments last week. The interdisciplinary project, now in its fourth year, combined studies in engineering, math, chemistry, history, theology, and English.
As a class, sophomores created a vision for a sustainable, smart city on an undeveloped plot of land to account for rapid urbanization, climate disruption, and anticipated population growth. This year, the city was designed for the area of Puerto Deseado, Argentina, a real plot of land in an actual location.
Urban planning began in March when students teamed up to design specific sectors, complete with a site plan using CAD software and a scaled architectural model. In humanities classes, the students also considered the city's society, including developing a history, religion, and social manifesto. After Spring Break, the building process began, with the elements of the city coming together in May.
During the last week of school, the sophomores presented their city sectors and individual buildings in their original engineering groups. Students described the purpose of their sector and individual traits of their buildings. Another component of the final assessment was the bid presentation, when groups competed for their company's sustainability contract. Each team, grouped by math class, presented their pitch, and the planning committee (the teachers) chose a winning bid. To draft their bids, the students researched, created spreadsheets, and made a five-year projection including capital and recurring costs.
"The latest iteration of the sustainable city is a stellar display of environmentally-considerate urban planning that not only meets the standards for zero-effect architecture, but elevates the quality of life through its thoughtful inclusion of wellness enhancements," said Kali Lambrou, STEM teacher. "The girls collectively created a place to live that visually embraces the traditional culture of the region juxtaposed by the modern technological innovations. Together this reflects their deep understanding of environmental engineering. Simply, this city is awesome, and I am moving in as soon as possible!"