Open Architecture Network

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Designing for Community

Kallari Chocolate Factory Complex   

Open Architecture Design Competition

PALISADES HIGH SCHOOL DESIGN TEAM

35 Church Hill Rd, Kintnersville, Pa 18930

Joseph Raynock, Mentoring Architect

Pat Peterson Raynock, Mentoring Teacher

I. Project philosophy

“Architecture is a process of giving Form and Pattern to the Social Life of the Community”

-          Hannes Meyer

The Open Architecture Competition entry by the Palisades High School Design Team reflects the philosophy that a quality design not only fulfills requirements of functionality but also facilitates the preservation of indigenous culture and cultivates environmental stewardship within the community.  During the design process, student team members work with a practicing architect and a teacher-mentor to participate in an experiential learning process that enhances their education with an emphasis on formulating practical architectural solutions.

The architectural designs submitted in this entry outline a community-centered workplace that creates local pride, drives local economy, and serves as an educational center and product distribution hub for the Kallari Association members.  The complex will also act as an eco-tourist destination that will continue to generate interest in the Northern Quechua cacao groves of the Napo Province. 

II. Facility Overview

The Kallari factory complex is designed as a series of four contemporary modules organized along and connected by a covered pavilion.  The pavilion is constructed using traditional Quechua architectural techniques, with a thatched roof, and open-air structure.  The pavilion organizes the central spatial dynamic of the complex and opens out of the rear of the site to the vista of the river and hillside beyond.  On this river-facing side of the complex, the pavilion extends outward to cover an open-air amphitheater.  The pavilion creates a centralized stroll-way for visitors and connects the administration module (the northern anchor of the complex) to the factory (the southern anchor of the complex).  Between these two anchors, two one-story modules, the library/craft module, and the café/store module are placed to either side of the main entry to the complex.  This large Quechua style umbrella will be the unifying architectural feature for the complex.  Under its protection, local artisans can display market wares to the visiting public and Kallari members will hold annual meetings in the amphitheatre that is placed to the rear of this space. This structure allows for visitors to gain access to picnic areas and botanical pathways that lead toward the river and mountains vistas on the far side of the river.

The main (visitor) entrance of the complex is a sheltered walkway that extends from the pavilion to the visitor drop-off point in front of the building.  Botanical display gardens occupy the areas between each of the modules along the front line of the buildings.  Visitor parking and public restrooms are located across from the front façade of the complex on the opposite side of the driveway.  There is a residential area on the hillside to the west of the main complex.  This area is made up of four small units interconnected through courtyards.  Under each of these units is a water cistern, and these cisterns are the main water supply for the complex.  A gravity-feed system transports water from the cisterns to the rest of the complex.

 The chocolate making factory is the largest module in the main complex.  The land is cut and graded away under the factory building to make a floor base that is three feet below the grade of the other buildings of the complex.  This will give a cooler ambient temperature to the factory rooms and allow for the leveling of the long building and associated parking.  Solar panels on the factory roof will provide energy for the functioning of the factory and the entire complex.  The roasting operation is segregated from the remainder of the chocolate processing to isolate and vent the heat generated during the roasting stage of the chocolate-making process.  A visitor walkway will run along the side of the factory adjacent to the main pavilion and will provide a vantage point from which the workings of the factory can be observed.  Wall mosaics will be crafted onto the concrete block surface along the outer façade of this walkway by local artisans and this artistic treatment of the walls may be expanded in other areas of the complex over time.  A community recreational area (athletic fields, etc.)  will make up the northern end of the site.  The complex is situated so that it may expand into this northern area if necessary.  The space between the amphitheater and the recreational area provides additional open-air market space and/or picnic area.

Traffic from Quito will arrive at the site from the north, and the complex is angled on the site so that arriving visitors will be presented with the traditional texture of the overall complex on first sight.  This angle reveals the central Quechua pavilion from a side elevation as it rises above the individual modular components.

Three remote kiosk-style buildings have been designed with sheltered porches extending from the structures.  Each has satellite internet connection and a solar panel for power.  Buildings are of traditional design but provided with de-humidifiers to allow for computer installation in the buildings.

III. Building Briefs and Materials

Factory: (Two+ story with roofline peak to match height of admin bldg.) Poured sealed concrete floor, corrugated metal roofing, and concrete block lower walls with post and beam wood frame construction above. Solar panel installation on roof.

Administration module: (Two-story) Poured sealed concrete floor.  Concrete block and wood frame building, metal roof, Solar panels.

The library/craft module and the café/store module: (One story) corrugated metal roofing, concrete block and wood frame construction

Pavilion: (2+ story) Traditional Quechua post and beam structure with traditional indigenous roofing material.

Satellite kiosk hubs:  One room, wood and block with sheltered porches, Quechua roof, sheltered porches.

On-site Residences:  Simple small cottage style structures.  Each cottage is two rooms, wood and block with sheltered porches, and Quechua roof built into hillside with concrete cisterns below each cottage.                                    

IV. Required Systems

Waste Treatment System:

Rational- The purpose of a composting toilet is to cut cost for the site by eliminating

the installation of a septic system.  Both gray-water and compost are byproducts of the toilet system; gray-water will be used in irrigation, and the compost in fertilization. 

System Function- Installing a composting toilet at the site will minimize the environmental impact compared to that of a traditional septic system.  Close proximity to a river adds to the importance of proper waste control. Using a urine diverting system,  solid waste will be converted into compost without the use of a pit-toilet or latrine. The urine will be diverted to a holding tank were it will be pumped to either shallow leach-fields or to irrigation fields, along with other gray-water such as wash water and any waste water from the chocolate making process. A novel air convection system will eliminate odor in this state of the art composting toilet system.

·         Five urine-diverting toilets

·         one urinal

·         Two independent cement chambers (3m x 3m x 1.5m)

·         Convection film

·         Four urine holding and digestion tanks

·         Tubing to connect gray water sources to urine source and to carry water

·         Pumping systems to transport gray water

·         Poured sealed concrete floor

·         Natural wood structure

Hydroelectric Generation:

Rationale- One of the ways that the factory can limit its environmental impact is to use the river nearby as a source of electricity. The flow of the river can be put to use by diverting it into a turbine-generator system to create electricity. Similar units can be put in place at kiosk sites.

System Function-

At the highest up-river point on site, a diversion trough would collect river water and transport it until a head of six to ten feet is obtained. The size of the diversion trough and head will determine the electric output of the generation system chosen. The turbine system will be inserted into the draft tube at the fall point. Vender selection will depend on river flow and head. This hydropower system will supplement the solar collection system located elsewhere on the site.

Remote kiosks located near stream sites could be located near moving water. These Kiosks would use the ES&D LH1000 Ultra-Low Head Turbine. By diverting the streams in an 18” diameter trough the flow can be increased, and the river will in turn increase the electrical output. The end of that trough could be positioned a bit above the river for a greater head which will also increase the electrical output.  The water will travel through the trough and then exit through a vertical tube at the end.  The system will be cross-bolted between the tube and the trough and as the water falls down the tube, it shall spin the propeller, which will turn the alternator and create electricity.

·         Proposed system requires ES&D LH1000 Ultra-Low Head Turbine if Kiosks are located near river flow, and the main complex would need to be surveyed to determine appropriate vendor.

·         Trough required to channel water into the turbine

Solar Power Generation

Rationale- Solar power is the world’s fastest growing source of alternative energy. With its geographic location near the equator, the Kallari site is suited for the use of solar powered energy systems.  Given the remote location of the kiosks, solar power is also a viable option to power these computer/satellite systems.  With proper installation and conscientious use of electricity, the factory will be powered almost entirely by the combination of hydroelectric and solar power.

System Function- The processing of chocolates requires providing consistent power to a line of  machinery. The power grid of rural Ecuador, however, can be fluctuating and unreliable. By taking advantage of solar power, the factory can remain independent of this system and mostly self-sufficient. Electricity can also be made available during the night with the incorporation of an energy storage system.  Depending on the local electric service, the association could even make money from the solar power by redirecting excess electricity back into the grid, in essence turning back its electricity meter.

·         Photovoltaic arrays

·         Inverter to power AC machines

·         Mounting apparatus

Cistern System

Rationale- Due to the high volume of rainfall in the Baeza area, a rain-catching cistern system could provide for all water needed for domestic purposes (washing, drinking, cooking) and industrial purposes (processing chocolate, cleaning factory equipment). Such a system would increase the self-sufficiency of the complex. It would also eliminate the cost of more expensive water utilities.

System Function- Each residential building will have a gutter system diverting all rainwater that would hit the roof of the building underground into a resin coated, concrete cistern. Underground piping extends out from the two-cistern system and forks with  one  branch of the fork leading to a basic filter system and a bathing outlet. The other branch of the fork extends down to the factory building where further distribution occurs. Part of the water is delivered to an advanced UV filtration system and an outlet for drinking water. Other piping leads to a more basic filtration system and an outlet for water to be used in the factory (cleaning equipment, processing chocolate, etc.).

·         Tubing of metal or plastic may be used to transport the water to the underground cistern

·         Resin coated underground concrete cisterns

·         Underground piping

·         Mid-range Water Filters

·         1 UV Water Purifier

V. Main Complex Function

The proposed main complex will allow workers to:

• provide access for staff to sell the association's chocolate and handcrafts online
• photograph and document handcrafts for selling online
• provide internet access for research on cacao farming and new handicraft techniques
• provide a public gathering space for the chocolate tasting for visitors
• sell their handcrafts and chocolate directly to any visitors to the main facility
• provide a FDA & OSHA approved production area for the production of gourmet chocolate

VI. Building Outlines

Kallari Association Administration Offices (approx. 200 m²)

• Administrative offices (2)
• Computer training room
• Small photography and graphics studio
• Server closet

Tourist Visitor Center/Community Gathering Spaces (approx. 200m²)

• Large meeting hall/auditorium (capacity: 60 persons)
• Café/chocolate tasting area
• Point of purchase area/small store
• Gallery
• Community research library

Chocolate Factory (Area: approx. 400m2)

• FDA & OSHA approved production rooms, including
• Work room
• Roasting room
• Melanger-broyer room
• Conching rooms
• Food store room
• Lunch room/kitchen
• Staff living quarters (8 persons, including bedrooms, living room and laundry area)

External Areas (Area: approx 470m2)

• Handcraft Market
• Picnic area
• Greenhouse and external organic/botanical gardens
• Service parking for delivery trucks (capacity: 3 trucks)
• Visitor parking (capacity: 3 buses, 10 cars)

Satellite Hub/Kiosks (3)
Site: off-site, undetermined
Facility footprint: approx. 3 m2
Total occupancy: 6-8 people