In 2003 the New Mexico State Legislature allocated Taos County funding to design and build the first Living Lab. An engineered learning space, the Living Lab's structural, mechanical and plumbing systems support the curriculum to demonstrate the most innovative concepts in ecological design and environmental stewardship.
Constructed adjacent to the University of New Mexico-Taos campus, this facility will promote ecological literacy for elementary, middle, high school, and college students throughout Taos County. Curriculum for the Living Lab is co-developed by Living Designs Group, The Yaxche School, and the Taos School District.
Self-sustaining, the Living Lab generates power from the sun, collects rainwater and reclaims wastewater through a Living Machine® System, an engineered ecosystem of microorganism and plant communities that digest the organic compounds in wastewater.
Comprising two multipurpose classrooms, an indoor horticulture laboratory, a mycoculture (mushroom) room, grey-water garden and catch-water cistern, the project is sited at under 2,300gsf. The core of the Living Lab structure and curriculum is a unique “living classroom” implementing hands-on lessons in ecology, agriculture, aquaculture, engineering and environmental restoration and highlighting the mutually beneficial relationships among varied organisms in natural ecosystems. Students will learn how they can harness natural resources to provide clean water, food, and shelter.
Living Classroom
The Living Lab introduces students to the interrelationship of the five kingdoms of nature; how bacteria, algae, protista, plants, and animals provide “life support” on this planet. Students become active participants in the development of living systems which provide clean water, food, and building materials. The diversity of pathways assures that wastes from one system become food for another. Harvested plant material from the Living Machine® System are mixed with waste paper to provide substrate for mushroom cultivation. Spent mushroom substrate is utilized as fish food for the aquaculture system. Nutrient enriched aquaculture water becomes fertilizer for grains, fruits and vegetables. Treated wastewater from the Living Machine® System irrigates groves of aspen and bamboo surrounding the building to provide sustainable building materials.
The Living Lab makes environmental principles both transparent and exciting. Students will recognize the potential of these complex natural systems and develop important life skills as they raise fish, harvest fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms, and build furniture and flutes. They learn that natural systems can transform wastewater and solid wastes into valuable resources.
The architecture of the Living Lab is designed to immerse students in the dynamic ecosystems described above. In addition to the laboratory space on the first floor, a second floor space is enclosed in glass and provides a quiet classroom environment. The design, materials and technologies of the building reinforce the principles of sustainable design. Passive solar design provides heating and cooling and is illustrative of solar cycles. Rainwater collection systems inform students about seasonal water availability. Natural building materials illustrate the important connections to local farms and forests. The building structure and infrastructure is designed as a “kit-of-parts” assuring that construction is quick and cost effective.
125 La Posta Road, Suite A | Taos, NM 87571
TEL: 575.751.9481 | FAX: 505.751.9483 | Email
1005 Lake Avenue, at the EcoCentre | Lake Worth, FL 33460
TEL: 561.623.2300 | FAX: 561.623.2304