The neighboring businesses and warehouses (currently mostly mechanic shops) could potentially become part of Ramboland through “just transition” support. Just as YIMBY will extend and enhance Ramboland systems to residential neighbors and partners, on this block and others over time, neighboring small businesses may decide to participate in the same ways, as well as adding PV installation and maintenance services, EV repair services, rainwater collection, treatment, and reuse system expertise, indoor and outdoor growing, all through training programs with local and regional educational systems that do and will increasingly offer these topics. This will enable greater economic resilience for these business owners, and greater system efficiency and security with less downtime for the neighborhood wide systems themselves, as well as ensuring the systems can produce surpluses, fully displacing such costs for the residents and business owners, and yield value that can be monetized. This may be important for these businesses as internal combustion engine repair will continue to taper off with the increased market-share of electric vehicles. That said, this would be a tapering and transition process, as especially low-income neighborhoods will need ICE car repair for several more decades… then again, if the Ramboland pattern spreads, the neighborhoods will no longer be “low-income.”

YIMBY was born during a community engagement session, when a neighbor said “can you do this stuff in our backyard too?”

Natural and biophilic (LINK TO DEFINITION) sounds from habitat, wind, trees, birds, insects, animals, moving water, and more can improve mental health, calm our nervous system. For those that suffer from limited or no biophobia, it can be soothing, and positively impact our psyche and thus bodies in meaningful ways.

Wind speeds tend to be higher in open spaces compared to spaces with buildings or trees, except cases where the prevailing winds align with urban canyons or corridors (definition link).

In recent years, in part because of the limiting of human activity as a result of Covid 19 lockdowns, we have realized that noise pollution is one of humanity's biggest assaults on other forms of life. Disruptive noises such as mechanical equipment, vehicles (especially diesel trucks), construction, airplanes, and other machinery flood our environments with sound that drowns out important detection and communication capabilities of many species.

Air quality in urban environments, indoor as well as outdoor, can be a threat to human health. Americans spend 90% of their lives indoors, and on average, indoor spaces have between 10x and 100x as many contaminants in the breathing compared to most outdoor environments, even major cities, with some exceptions (source: Greenguard).

Building materials are among the worst culprits, as are building systems that fail to clean the air well, and prevent infiltration of contaminants in various ways. But in many cases natural gas utilizing appliances, which pretty much all leak at least a minor amount, are introducing oxygen displacing methane, along with impurities, and now in some cases dioxins suspected to originate from corporate IP protected fracking fluids (Gas Safety USA).

Outside, nearby industrial and transportation air are usually the primary culprits, but often in close competition with fossil fuel utilizing power plants.

Trees and plants use energy from sunlight, water and nutrients from the roots, and carbon dioxide from the air to create sugar for fuel and make their wood bodies – processes that emit oxygen as a byproduct. In addition to improving our air quality, trees can significantly cool large areas in the summer, by providing shade and evapotranspiration. Trees and plants are also habitats for many Life sustaining and supporting species, such as pollinators, birds, other insects, fungi, other microbes, and many mammals and rodents.

Being surrounded by nature is also scientifically proven to contribute to improved mental health and cognitive function for humans. Broadly
speaking this is known as biophilia.

Buildings are one of the most significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for about 40% of global CO2 emissions (Source: US DOE EIA). When you attribute industrial and transportation impacts from building products and materials, the total building CO2 emissions number is much higher. In other words, both operational energy uses such as heating, cooling, lighting, water pumping and heating, as well as building materials and construction are usually the biggest contributors to non-local emissions (from power and water plants), and among the most significant contributors to some emissions locally.

Most buildings also exacerbate the urban heat island effect, raising temperatures in densely built environments by storing heat and displacing temperature regulating vegetation.

Buildings can also be a major threat to wildlife, such as birds, second only to cats in terms of bird fatalities, etc. And of course many other species are displaced or otherwise disrupted and killed by our built-environment practices. We submit that none of this is necessary, and much of it can be walked back with innovative practices such as building integrated habitats, rewilding, bird friendly building techniques, and more.

As the YIMBY model spreads, neighboring roofs can be renovated addressing issues such as leaks, wear and tear, and structural damage, as well as improving insulation. Instead of unwanted water going down into the house it will be redirected to community cisterns, or to rain barrels that can be picked up by the EV. The additional power generation from the newly installed solar PV panels on the roof will provide for any electric pumping necessary, but in most cases gravity will do all the work. In concert these systems will support food production across a food insecure neighborhood, as well as a highly resilient “nanogrid,” extending the benefits of clean and resilient energy to the neighborhood over time, as neighbors opt-in.

Water cisterns are distributed throughout the neighborhood to collect rainwater from the roofs. In addition to aid stormwater management, the rainwater can then be used to water the urban farms. The EV will transport full cisterns to the farm or where water is needed, and return the empty cisterns back to collect rainwater.

Food is at the core of the Yes-In-My-BackYard (YIMBY) program. Initially neighbors on the same block can opt for the backyard buy-in, giving them little stock in the shared entity, and giving the farming operation more area to cultivate ecologically rich food systems, where mostly dead "lawn" exists currently (mono-culture lawns are often less-alive that even deserts). Further stake/stock can be opted into with offers of labor and wall and roof surface area for additional ecological food generation, and sun (energy) and water collection to continue to maintain and expand the surplus-producing water and energy "nanogrid" (smaller than a typical microgrid). (link to YIMBY water, and YIMBY energy)

With the overhead costs of energy and water eliminated by onsite net-positive system surpluses, and to some extent labor supplied through educational partnerships, the cost of food production is significantly reduced. Through regenerative as well as technologically advanced (2 different things mind you) both food quality and quantity can be radically increased in close vicinity to where it is most needed. In partnership with DECA City Farms and others, the Glassmeyer Farm at Ramboland will be tied into an emerging net-work of urban food system nodes, providing not only nutritional, but also economic resilience, through shared ownership models.

Urban farming efforts are often restrained by soil contamination and other contaminants in urban environments. In order to grow healthy food, Ramboland will bring in healthy soil, as well as commit to composting and other methods of producing more healthy soil, in order to continuously support the farm with soil that is free of contaminants, as well as spread the pattern of these activities across neighborhoods, through collaboration with partners and adjacent institutions on nearby open green space. Instead of planting turf grass and mowing it, which is associated with high financial and environmental cost, we aim to enable regenerative farming in those spaces. This will also be in support of just transition efforts for landscapes. (link to Regional soil contamination issues).

Urban soil, while often forgotten about or deemed so unhealthy that it can no longer fulfil its purpose, is essential in supporting urban green space, urban biodiversity, mitigating floods, and serving as water and carbon storage. The soil in urban environments is often heavily contaminated with industrial chemicals, landfill-like debris, and other health threats, which makes it mostly unsuited for urban farming purposes. However, bioremediation strategies like using fungi to remove heavy metals from soil, and plants to absorb pollutants from water or soil have been proven to be capable of addressing all of these issues if carefully and consistently applied, while also growing urban ecological health and diversity. Ramboalnd will serve as a proving ground and launching point for this activity, especially as its approaches grow through YIMBY.

The alley, which we’ve been told by the city we may improve with the consensus of the neighbors we share it with, can serve as a spine for YIMBY (link to YIMBY) expansion and connection to institutional future partners (hopefully) with nearby land. This will enable better connectivity of especially water and energy systems, hopefully allowing us to connect with neighbors who share our block, without solely relying on the EV’s for YIMBY partnerships.

As crazy as it may seem, transferring electricity across streets to other blocks is not that easy, and is usually prevented by what are called franchise rights: In many cities power companies hold sole permissions to run power lines over, under, and across streets. Sometimes Ecodistricts (definition link) and other policy instruments can be used to rescind these legislated monopolies, but our crazy Ramboland engineers realized another, creative, counter-intuitive solution. In conjunction with the fact that electric vehicles have massive batteries, even compared to most whole-house battery systems (definition link), and the need for many neighbors to have more resilient systems, especially for medical equipment and their refrigerators, a clever transitional idea was born. Building upon the concept discussed in the (INSERT LINK TO “EV Battery” TOOLTIP) we also plan to move freestanding batteries to & from the Ramboland site (which will have a surplus of renewable energy) with neighbors on other blocks that have signed up for partnership via YIMBY (link to YIMBY explanation TT). Essentially the same thing will be done
with rain barrels and crops, when heavier payloads go down hills than the payloads being brought back up the hill, the EV’s may even have a net-gain of stored energy (battery-level). In an already well distributed energy, food, or water system this would not be necessary, but it is a bizarrely synergistic neighborhood system “hack” as we work to transition from dirty, dangerous, vulnerable, costly centralized systems.

The EV (definition link) battery will function as energy storage, and transportation. Although it may seem ridiculous to transport energy between buildings using the batteries in EV’s, a great deal of recent research and analysis (citations forthcoming) is demonstrating that this may be a useful transition strategy. EV batteries are huge relative to those needed to support a home. The differences in schedules of energy production and use across buildings and vehicles offers opportunities to match peaks in energy generation and demand. Moving energy between buildings, especially from surplus producing ones like the house at Ramboland to other nearby homes without as much renewable energy production capacity, can even out . Until we have widespread blockscale “nanogrids” nested within neighborhood microgrids, we still need ways of moving energy between buildings and across streets, to supplement the traditional centralized energy grid with cleaner energy for greater resilience, especially in more vulnerable communities. Check out the “Satellite Block Battery Exchange” TT for more (INSERT LINK).

As the YIMBY model spreads, neighboring roofs can be renovated addressing issues such as leaks, wear and tear, and structural damage, as well as improving insulation. Renovated roofs will be equipped with solar PV (definition link) modules which will extend the life of the roof, shade its surface, and in connection with Ramboland’s core systems, create a solar powered electricity “nanogrid” (a small microgrid - microgrid definition link) in a vulnerable community, extending the benefits of clean and resilient energy to the neighborhood over time, as neighbors opt-in. All this work will also result in redirecting rain that falls on the roof and PV directly to community cisterns (definition link), or to rain barrels (usually 50 gallon barrels at the base of a home’s downspout) that can be picked up by the Ramboland EV. The additional power generation will provide for any electric pumping necessary, but in most cases gravity will do all the work.

Architecturally structured pockets of air organized against north wall increasing insulation (effectively) on the side exposed to cold winter prevailing winds. In other words, closets, murphy beds, mechanical rooms, cabinets, bathroom, and even the vegetation on the exterior, all further protect and insulate the most thermally vulnerable exposure of the building. An Oxford study found that heavily vegetated building facades were not only an average of 15 degrees cooler in the Summer, but more surprisingly 10 degrees warmer in the winter!

In most cities, including Lancaster, shared alleys can be improved and utilized in a number of ways as long as all the neighbors are in consensus about it. Utilizing some of this space to provide better wheelchair and pedestrian access through the core of the block and to the resources at Ramboland, for the neighbors, several of whom rely on access to their backdoors because the steps on the front of their houses are not manageable. Furthermore, a boardwalk can serve as a spine for conduit, hose, and pipe for the connectivity of neighbors enrolling in the YIMBY program to link up their homes to th
Ramboland utility network.

The bathtub itself is a wheelchair-transfer walk-iIn tub with a fast fill Faucet, and massage jets. The orthopedic and quality of life benefits of this are clear. And like the pot-filler* in the kitchen space, flow-rate is irrelevant, in terms of water usage, because you'll put the same amount of water into the tub regardless of how fast it gets there. Getting it there faster will also save a small amount of energy because less heat will be lost before use.

The bathtub is set up like a peninsula extending into the bathroom instead of with its long side against a wall, as would be the typical way to place it. This is so that care-givers can access the tub from any of 3 sides, including the one where the sink is. The opposite side is the one with the door for transfer. Not only will this be much easier to get in and out for someone reliant on a wheelchair, but it will also enable a very easy transfer using the suspension system dolly**. There is also a floor drain on that side as well tied to the recirculating shower***.

Enabling this level of self care and care-giver ease is very rare, and therefore worth the additional financial cost. Most of us that are more mobile-able take for granted the luxury of being able to shower or take a bath, not only for convenience but the significant mental health benefits.

The fact that the water in this house will be unparalleled in terms of its purity also means that the steam generated in the bathroom will have far fewer contaminants, keeping the indoor air at a higher quality.

This approach is not only much safer – it’s also something that has long been out of reach for many people with mobility challenges. Bathing and showering can be too risky for them and their caregivers, largely because they only have consistent access to non-accessible bathrooms like the one shown in this image of Ron’s current setup. These are the types of facilities typically found in apartments that people with mobility impairments can afford when relying on state subsistence benefits. While programs do exist to support modifications even in rental units, landlords are often unwilling to allow them, or the small square footage and other architectural limitations make renovations cost-prohibitive.

Links to:
ACCESSIBILITY PROGRESS NOTE
DONATION NOTE
AUTOMATION NOTE

Ramboland is a universal design and community health demonstration project and living laboratory. This site is it's digital twin. It is, and always will be in a state of becoming, like it's real-world twin. The twin's will be increasing integrated with each other and into educational programs, through onsite sensors, data streams, bioregional digital twins, human reporting, and mixed reality and large-language-model (AI) interfaces. Among many other things these will spread the word about the higher possibilities for our built environments to produce living and economic value, and support the health and wealth generation of our most neglected and abused communities. Please, join team Rambo... integrate it into your learning and teaching, donate, explore, contact us, partner, and post about it!

After we planned the building, we placed the mechanical room, closets, and a few other enclosed spaces along the northern wall of the home (*). We also designed the cross-ventilation so that as air warms, it rises and is pushed and pulled out through upper windows (**) above the mechanical room, using the prevailing winds. This left us with a design challenge: how to cap the mechanical room in a way that worked with the airflow and overall plan.

Leaving it open would expose the main living space to all the noise of the equipment in the mechanical room, and also eliminate the opportunity for that room to function as a space in which air is pre-cooled in the Summer or pre-heated in the Winter by the equipment***, before being recycled into the space by a combination of the fresh air supply system and the high efficiency heat-pump above the bathroom****.

Indoor green roof moderates temperature and humidity, improves IEQ, IAQ in terms of ?, O2/CO2

*link to Passive Design 3 Tool-Tip
**link to Cross Ventilation Vignette
***link to HVAC pre-conditioning (not yet written)
****link to explanation of mechanical equipment

Goal: Operate within the sites natural energy budget, and produce a surplus of renewable energy to share with neighbors

Since air conditioning (cooling) caught on in the U.S., designers of our buildings have largely ignored the effects of sunlight and wind on them, and as an industry and culture we've mostly lost touch with ways of not only reducing unwanted heat gains in Summer and losses in Winter, but conversely also don't typically consider or know how to maximize the beneficial inverse of these factors.

Surrounding massing of buildings, trees, topography, and
other structures are of course also key considerations. If there is or even may eventually be a large mass that blocks the sunlight to the south of the building, the southern windows won't be able to catch direct sunlight to gain more heat in cold months.

Surrounding elements can also be used to great advantage also. For example trees that drop their leaves in cold months will let sunlight through to reach the buildings and heat them, while they're fully leafed out canopies create shade and cooler microclimates underneath them in the warmer months. This makes them a great contributor to energy efficiency when they are located to the south, east, and west of the building. Coniferous trees which maintain their vegetation year round are very helpful in blocking cold winds from the NW direction in the Winter, and hot sun to the east and west, and even the north near the Summer Solstice.

Most people are skeptical about including support for bats in their local ecology. But then they learn what bats eat – insects. Particularly since the Zika virus, Malaria mostly in other countries, and other mosquito borne pathogens made their debut,
Google AI Overview
Bat boxes can be good for a variety of reasons, including:
Protecting your yard: Bats eat many types of insects, including mosquitoes, moths, and beetles, which can help keep your yard pest-free.
Providing a safe place for bats: Bat houses offer a safe place for bats to roost, especially when they're raising their young.
Helping bats survive: Bat populations are declining due to habitat loss, and bat houses can help provide a place for bats to roost that they might not otherwise find.
Helping the environment: Bats are important pollinators and seed dispersers, which can help plants grow in new areas.
Being fun to watch: Bats are fascinating to watch, especially during their nightly acrobatics.

In a healthy village...
children are not stuffed into boxes to learn things, or at least that's not the only or primary way learning happens. In a healthy village most of the youth's learning, and the most important sorts of learning, happen in community, and with several other generations. And they are likewise teaching their elders some things, regenerating the learnings and keeping the elders from settling too firmly into attitudes and positions.

The often adopted/appropriated concept of 7 generation thinking has been misunderstood by even well-intended descendents of settlers. It does not (just) mean thinking about the implications of our decisions on our descendents 7 generations in the future. Nor does it just mean we consider 3 behind us, our own, and 3 ahead of us, though apparently this is closer. Apparently it refers to the number of generations we should each encounter in our lifetime. When we're born we might be lucky enough to know great-grandparents and others from their generation; our elders' elders. But we may also live long enough and be lucky enough in other ways to meet our great-grandchildren. Tending to life-wisdom across 4 generations at any given moment creates resilience in that wisdom. Resilience unavailable when our elders are relegated to only being with each other, often in medical buildings they'd rather not be in, and our children's energy is pulled out of our community most waking hours, so they can learn, mostly data, and not how systems work or how to understand living systems, and step into their working.

We are going through ridiculous business model contortions and creativity in order to enable evolved approaches that not only allow a reintegration of our generations in western modernity, but also weave learning back into that shared-presence, and some technological and programmatic crutches for them to all step into co-learning about both the timeless systems, and rapidly evolving modern ones alike.

The washer/dryer unit is placed in the mechanical room for convenience, and shortens pipe length from treatment systems to all fixtures and appliances using treated rain for washing and irrigation. This will also slightly post/pre-heat return air before it is exhausted through an energy recovery ventilator (ERV) or cycled back into the house. This is also creating a warmer pocket of air on the northern wall, and is what's called "waste heat capture," which is good because Lancaster will remain a "heating load dominant" climate for at least the next couple of decades.

Many are economically trapped by circumstances they're born into and programs, designed to help, are set up to disqualify individuals as they begin to succeed, but before they can survive independently of that support; many in low-income, redlined, and otherwise abused communities don't know anyone personally that significantly changed their lot in life. Celebrity exceptions are statistically absurd, and studies have shown a strong, present, stable adult deeply believing in you is a key to success, and some have that, and many don't. Many adults in abused communities are absent at least a lot of the daytime, often because they must hold more than one low-income job to provide for basic physical needs (food, energy, and housing). Experience has also shown us that if a person does not personally know someone in a given profession or professional pathway, they simply will not believe it is possible for them to be in it. Experience is the only thing that can overcome these beliefs which are themselves ingrained as a result of an utter, multi-generational lack of that optimistic experience. Government programs are a non-starter for many in such circumstances, who still remember times in their family histories, sometimes not long ago, that filling out a form led to abuse. As neighborhoods in these conditions begin to receive economic development its advocates suggest simplistically that it will benefit everyone. However, rising property prices also mean rising taxes and other living expenses, and existing residents are seldom formally included in the rising tide, held to the bottom by a short chain on their anchor. The cyclical diasporas of the poor are moved around our cities as the churn of investment gnaws through the edges of "good" and "bad" neighborhoods - generally this poor-displacement occurs across the span of a few generations, and then repeats. But this isn't how it works everywhere, and our lost arts of "Villaging" are not gone altogether - there is a way to regenerate people and their places, such that even more economic value is created –actually for all. Beware, there is a huge amount of claims in this arena, but we are committed to approaches in which non-consenting displacement driven by economic development is a DEAL-BREAKER, and Ramboland is the application of some of the most innovative ideas about how this could work differently.

Yep, centralized, loss-heavy, fragile, dirty, inequitable, unhealthy, dangerous...
Most of the food we eat, for those of us that have access to enough, is coming from far away; from mono-cropped land (land on which only one crop is grown, that is deader than deserts in many ways); bathed in petrochemicals to make up for the un-systemic, extractive methods of cultivation and the problems with pests and lack of nutrients it creates; tended by either massive machines or underpaid, desperate workers destroying their bodies by being hunched over all day, often just to send a few dollars back to poorer family in other countries; and about 40% of it is wasted either on the vine, or on the shelves, or somewhere in between; meanwhile huge populations go without sufficient access to healthy food, and we have simultaneous pandemics of obesity and hunger. Several of the species of plants being grown have been whittled down from numerous sub-species to only one or two, incredibly vulnerable to a single blight, and so heavily subsidized and relied upon that it could collapse our whole food system. And the animals involved are mostly treated like machines or plants, and live miserable, tortuously painful and short lives that resemble several levels of Dante's Hell, and are themselves extremely vulnerable to viruses and other infections and disease, and for that reason and to maximize their productivity are pumped full of hormones and antibiotics, many of which make their way into our food and the water bodies via their excretions being washed by rainwater runoff into the water bodies from which we draw our drinking water.

It is centralized, loss-heavy, fragile, dirty, inequitable, inhumane, brutal, and maybe if that were all in the name of the economic thriving of the people that rely on it throughout that overall chain there would be some kind of argument for protecting our agriculture's current form from reform. But it is squeezing family and small businesses, and primarily benefitting already wealthy subsets of our population, and perhaps also some of the retirement plans of our hardworking citizens through pension funds on the stock market being tied up in the transnational corporations running most of it. But who would want their money in such a fragile and grim investment?

And what if it were all unnecessary, and a faster-than-we-think transition that left no one behind were possible? And what if that created far more overall wealth, security, and health for all species. We're not alone in not only believing in this, but testing it and proving it.

As with the more public living/dining/kitchen/guest room, we wanted the bedroom first to be optimal in terms of accessibility and health effects, then second efficient in terms of space. Like the more public side of the wall, this room must not only be a medically well-equipped but homey bedroom, it also must be an entertainment space, dressing area, and an exercise room. While we did some tricky things with convertible furniture in the more public room, in this room we simply hung the entertainment system (TV, and HDMI streaming product, and a small soundbar with a great wireless headphone connection) from the roof/ceiling with some basic, inexpensive, but safe and strong hardware. We will likely add a single-size murphy bed as well, in case the queen sized one in the office nook is not sufficient for all the guests on a given night, or in the event that the caregiver needs to be in the same room for some overnights.

Ramboland features a pollinator hotel under the porch facing driveway. Pollinator hotels provide bees and other important pollinators with a safe site for nesting and overwintering, which offers benefits to humans and pollinators, as they are essential contributors to biodiversity and a healthy ecosystem. In urban environments, where natural habitats for pollinators are limited, integrating pollinator hotels in a green space or urban farm can increase biodiversity, lead to a more sustainable urban ecosystem, and enable agriculture that doesn't require herbicides and pesticides. Pollinator hotels are also great educational tools, raising awareness about the importance of pollinators and habitat conservation.

As with our split cooktop (link to vignette) our design team, including our accessible equipment advisor, have come up with an approach to some of the appliances, which we think will increase accessibility for more folks. By placing two half-height appliances together –one above and one below a height adjustable counter section –, the full size microwave, and an oven can both become highly accessible while using up minimal space.
When the counter is raised a person using a wheelchair could also pull in under the oven, and likely reach both appliances, with really easy access to the oven. When the pair are lowered the whole way to a point at which the oven is on the floor, the microwave could be all the way down to under counter height, and easily accessed from the front, or by someone in a wheelchair who has pulled in beside it under the sink.

Links to:
ACCESSIBILITY PROGRESS NOTE
DONATION NOTE
AUTOMATION NOTE

And then of course there is the elephant in the bathroom – the toilet. Although we will not be going with a $6,000 Japanese toilet, we will be selected one with excellent geometry for caregiver and user ease, as well as either a built-in or bolt-on bidet and tushy dryer, which are becoming readily and affordably available in the market, and a great help to everyone involved.

Flushes greywater

""Japenese"" toilet features like a bidet and dryer improve experience for both users and caregivers.

A custom designed pedal mechanism as a second option for flushing (which will simply pull down on the dual-flush flush-valve handle) improves hygiene when usable, by allowing hand contact with the fixture to be avoided. In some cases it will also improve accessibility when 1. a user has the ability to step on it but not otherwise operate a flush mechanism higher up, or 2. a user of a wheelchair can maneuver it to run over the pedal.

Links to:
ACCESSIBILITY PROGRESS NOTE
DONATION NOTE
AUTOMATION NOTE

Extended ramp and pier enable both accessibility and a diverse range of accessible viewing positions for those reliant on wheelchairs.

Many crops can be simply upgraded with some labor. Canning, pickling, etc. can extend the shelf life of food, and increase the price it can fetch if sold. Food processing can happen on-site in the garage, minimizing transportation of crops. (Link to Vignette)

Including a bioswale (link to definition) where many developments would include a strip of turf grass in between the sidewalk and the curb and street has numerous benefits. In this urban agriculture project it can serve as additional area for food producing trees and possibly other plants, although the water treatment the plants in the swale will be performing will make it important for us to select species that don’t allow contaminants to make their way into the harvested portions of the plants (fruits, etc.). In addition to cleaning the water on its way to a sewer or cistern, these systems also slow the flow of the water, making managing the rainfall easier. They also serve to create an even stronger barrier between motor vehicles and vulnerable users of the sidewalk that a simple curb does.

"Starts, growth, upgrade, teach, eat.”

The Ramboland “Fooding” System consists of the Greenhouse, used mainly for plant starts, the raised beds, used for plant growth, as well as the orchard, vertical screens, indoor green roofs, and outdoor green roofs – all on site. Ramboland’s on site “Fooding” System will produce X times of the produce needed for the occupants of the house. The garage will be used for food processing like jarring etc, and surplus food can be stored, sold, or help feed community members. The site is just part of what we consider the “Fooding” System however, as partners like DECA, YIMBY urban farming efforts, and other future collaborations and farming opportunities will create what we imagine to be a resilient system that can feed not only partners and YIMBY residents, but help bring healthy, affordable, and nutritious food to the entire community.

Greenhouse, raised beds, orchard, garage, vertical screens, indoor green roofs, outdoor green roofs, DECA, and beyond

As water changes phase from liquid to gas, when it reaches the right combination of temperature and relative humidity in the air around it, it absorbs a bit of additional energy from adjacent molecules. This causes a cooling effect, which is why we sweat too cool ourselves, and many other living beings do similar things. It's also why a forest always feels a bit cooler than less vegetated areas nearby; their canopies are actually usually hotter than a "natural" area without trees, but thanks to the shade and this evaporative cooling effect, the area under the canopy is often cooler, so generally speaking: vegetation has a cooling effect on an area. Swamp coolers also take advantage of this, spraying a mist into a space. They are among the simplest of active cooling systems, simply using a pump and a fan, and some water. Luckily most times of year we'll have more water than we need thanks to our large rainwater treatment and storage systems, and the projected increase in total annual water arriving in fewer, bigger rain events.

36 inch wide doors, per the minimum requirements of ADA (link to reference), are what we call barely legal. They're just good enough, not great. Someone relying on a wheelchair can easily still lose some knuckle skin going through a 36" wide door if they're self-propelling. Because they are so common, standard doorways have an economy of scale (link to definition), and so they are cheaper than most other sizes. Despite this we felt it made sense to take a stand and specify 40" wide doors everywhere at Ramboland. Economies of scale only occur when something is legally standardized, or sells enough because of demand. Let's drive up demand for safer, better doors.

For much of the design process we have planned to provide an overhead track system to support a hanging mechanism that allows Ron, visitors, and/or future residents to be comfortably suspended, and moved easily around the house to key fixtures, appliances, furniture, etc., by a caregiver or their own control interface. Accommodating this structurally and architecturally was challenging and increasing complicatedness and cost. Getting it through doors, and to all those locations was particularly challenging. We recently expanded the track idea to go throughout the entire house however, rationalizing that the track itself was not the costly part, and it even being a somewhat fun "ride" for some fit well with the theme park implications of the project name. And yet it was still not universal in the access it granted and getting more over-the-top than might be reasonable even for this swing-for-the-fences project. And then it occurred to us that maybe we could hang the components that actually suspend our bodies from a floor-based mobile unit, something like an engine block lift. We thought this was very clever. In what couldn't even be considered an "ah ha" moment, but more like a "yeah duh" moment, we realized people make those already. Of course they do. They can fit through doors, turn and move along on casters, change height and orientation for different fixtures, furnishings, and appliances, and more. They can be operated by motor, or caregiver elbow grease.

That said, if we're not able to get the one we want, we may still modify an engine block lift! Which might actually be cooler and cheaper, and perhaps our partners who work and learn in fabrication and robotics labs might help us make that!

A forthcoming level 2 (definition link) , possibly even level 3 (definition link), and definitely two-way charger (definition link) will not only support the optimization of the performance the Ramboland site (house plus Glassmeyer Farm; see TT about EV batteries) and the Ramboland Electric Delivery Vehicle, but also support other neighbors and their charging needs with clean renewable energy at lower cost than most stations - generating additional revenue for Ramboland and the co-owners amongst neighbors of those systems. In other words, it will be an additional way to produce revenue from a growing renewable energy system via YIMBY (link), justifying nearly limitless growth and renewable energy overproduction.

"Recirculating shower saves 90% of energy and 85% of water compared to code. High-flow shower head for convenience and quality of life.

Many do not fully appreciate some of the luxuries and coping mechanisms we have in our society, nor realize that many don’t have safe or frequent access to them. For example, showers. In Ron’s current subsistence level living situation, it is unsafe for him to take a shower as well as it is unsafe for his caregivers to assist him during a shower. Because of that, he relies mostly on sponge bathing, as do millions of other people with limited mobility. The shower installed at Rambolandwill allow Ron (and ultimately other users) to have access to a full soaker tub with a door that allows a suspension system to carry him safely and conveniently in and out of it. The tub is positioned in such a way that caregivers can reach in from 3 of the 4 sides, a rare convenience. The bathroom will also feature a high-flow shower head next to the bathtub that he can enter independently in a wheelchair or with support of the suspension system and enjoy a better shower experience.

How does this comply with our other environmental goals? Well, the showering system we are installing is called a recirculating shower. Despite its high-flow rainforest shower head, it saves almost 90% of both water and energy compared to a code compliant 2.5 gallon per minute showerhead. This is because unlike standard showers that lose all the water and heat after it passes over our bodies and down the drain only once, water in this system will recirculate about 7 times before being drained. This is possible because the shower has built-in treatment, filtration, and temperature regulators, which also ensure cleaner water than typical tap water and allow for a perfectly controlled water temperature, making them safer in terms of burns and cold shocks – a greater risk with users that have speech challenges.

Links to:
ACCESSIBILITY PROGRESS NOTE
DONATION NOTE
AUTOMATION NOTE

This is a great example of the wacky, creative contortions we find ourselves in when we audaciously step into extremely aggressive goals with a world-class team, working from regenerative thinking and integrative principles. Several of these ideas fly directly in the face of longstanding environmental movement dogma, so we invite you to not reject or accept these ideas before really considering them in terms of their effects, and what paradigms and assumptions you are sitting in as you do so.

Research (get from Noah Zallen at Introba) and projects are indicating that energy microgrids can achieve "islandable" status and produce a far smaller surplus of energy if they have massive and dynamic storage in the form of EV's that are consistently connected to them via two-way chargers. We have wanted to provide a wheelchair modified EV as part of this project all along. Now it may have even more purpose.

This insight from one of our energy engineers (Noah Zallen at Introba) triggered a set of unexpected addtional ideas with one of our civil engineers (Jim Remlin with Sherwood Design Engineers). What if we helped our YIMBY program that expanded the systems approaches to neighbors's yards could jump across streets using the EV. What if instead of direct piping from neighbors' roofs to our cisterns, we placed rain barrels at YIMBY houses on other blocks in this and other low-income neighborhoods? It could be calculated based on rainfall and roof collection areas when those barrels would be full. The EV could bring an empty barrel, and swap it for the full one, and take that water to one of our partner's sites, DECA City Farms probably, where additional food production was occurring and there may be additional water needs, or just a preference rain with some extra goodies in it plants will like, and no chlorine they won't like. Having dropped off several full rain barrels the EV van with a liftgate would be empty and able to haul crops from the other farm to either locations where canning, jarring, pickling, etc could occur, or directly to a sales point or a free distribution point like a food bank, church, park, or community center.

This torque-intensive, low-milage journey is a perfect fit for the strengths of EV's, and it would likely return to its charger at Ramboland with a lot of remaining battery charge, which if it the nanogrid decided it made sense for economic or energy resilience reasons, could power the house or charge its batteries or those batteries placed in neighboring houses to prevent refrigerated food loss or medical device power loss during a blackout.

Likewise, the EV's could actually deliver charged batteries from energy surplus producing sites, to energy deficit suffering YIMBY partners as well.

We have the utmost respect and admiration for educators, and several of us have specific educators from the Lancaster area we credit with being fundamental to the directions we took in life. Many of them would say that the system is working, or at least not well enough. And a lot of that has to do with the fact it is stuck in a few structures and principles that are not conducive to evoking the essence and potential of learners (what education should really be about, as opposed to cramming data into skulls). In addition to this data obsession, we are also stuck in the idea that we should remove learners from their systems, stuff them in buildings, pull apart the systems in the abstract; as opposed to embedding learning how to interact and be a part of the systems of our communities while we engage in their health. We are pulling the energy of our young and others out of the systems that need that energy the most, and attempting to indoctrinate them to use automated "thoughting" rather than increase thinking prowess and capacity. The primary instruments of these education systems are pat memorization, enclosure & fragmentation / reductive methods, and with obedience as a prerequisite for being able to impose this.

The kitchen will be a demonstration both of the best accessibility products and creative ways of arranging them to maximize their usability for as many users as possible; products like pull-down upper cabinets, height adjustable counters, sink, and appliances, and a wheelchair pull-in space between all of them, as well as space to add an upper refrigeration unit should Ron or other visitors or residents wish it to be available to those that can reach those higher levels. The induction cooktop will be embedded in the height adjustable island, with prep space between the two pairs of burners to improve usability by those preparing foods from a wheelchair, minimizing the need to maneuver the chair repeatedly while moving food and cookware onto and off of the safe induction heat surfaces.

Links to:
ACCESSIBILITY PROGRESS NOTE
DONATION NOTE
AUTOMATION NOTE

Triple Pane Windows minimize energy losses through the envelope, compared to code minimum windows. Our Tilt-turn windows also seal better than more traditional double-hung windows, and allow us to open windows facing downward to pull in prevailing winds from the south in shoulder seasons, and release it upward through windows that open up on the north wall, as warming air passes through space during cross-ventilation.

Windows on the south side allow high levels of solar heat gain because window sills, headers, and roof overhang relative geometries ensure the sun only reaches these windows in cold months, when we want the heat gain. In those months the sun angles are lower, and can get under the roof overhang to pass into the house and assist with heating it, reducing the burden on the mechanical heating systems. These windows still have a very low U-value to insulate well, however. Conversely, windows on the other 3 sides have both low U-values (insulate well) and low SCGC (Solar Heat Gain Coefficient), so they reject solar heat gain in the warmer months when we can't prevent the sun from reaching them. However the house has also been shaped and oriented such that we have far more southern exposure than east or west, because again, the southern exposure doesn't receive heat in the warm months, and does in the cold months. Conversely the minimized east and west wall sizes do the opposite of what you want them to; they gain heat in the Summer and don't in the winter, because the Sun rises farther northeast of the house and has more time to heat up the eastern side of the house in the Summer, and likewise spends more time heating up the western side of the house as it sets, which is also generally when the ambient temperatures are highest (afternoon).

The almost literally beating heart of the machine aspects of the house are in the centralized mechanical room. Water, air, and energy management systems are placed here, along with the laundry. Some HVAC equipment is just on the other side of the wall, placed above the bathroom ceiling plenum (definition link). These central locations allow for several benefits:
This mostly unoccupied space can serve as an additional buffer against the north wall (link to Passive Strategies TT), and be allowed to have temperature and humidity setpoints beyond typical human comfort ranges, reducing energy use to regulate that.
Duct, wire, conduit, and pipe lengths will be minimized because nearly all destinations for these conveyance systems (definition link) will just on the other side of a wall or ceiling from the mechanical room. This will not only reduce cost and environmental impacts via material use reductions, but the resistance you get from every linear foot of pipe or duct is reduced, which means pumps and fans don’t need to work as hard.
Placing all this equipment indoors (some of which would be placed outdoors or in basements in other cases) not only allows them to be more easily and effectively maintained, but it gives us a central place to show them off on this educational demonstration project.

In a healthy village...
resources are not taken for granted. Let alone contaminated and cast aside. The combination of having plenty of energy (whatever forms that takes, elbow grease, flowing water, solar radiation, the heat of the Earth herself) and the awareness of the water demands of the maximized healthy abundance in the hyper-local biome, makes the water falling out of the sky an obvious connector. Not only that, the familiarity with how that ecosystem relates to the hydrology, above and below, clues the citizens into the idea that rain does not skip right to the surface water bodies. The living beings take up huge amounts of it, use it for biological processes, often several, before releasing mostly vertically, through infiltration and evaporation/evapotranspiration. What if our built infrastructures did this as well? When significant storage capacity is introduced, not only is there enough water for all the biological processes in many parts of our country, there are also ways to release the water when it is in excess of needs, and without damaging systems and their members downstream.

When goals like "capture all rain, and use it multiple times on site" and "only release water vertically unless its in living being's body (mostly animals and plants that have consumed it)" become guiding principles, well-intended (pun) green building principles, like reducing water use, fall away because those are based on an intention of minutely reducing the contribution to the harm of the centralized municipal water systems. In the approaches explored here there are moments in the year that more water must be used to keep the hydrologic processes in balance.

Air quality in western modernity has been a bit of a rollercoaster. Before the industrial revolution humanity had seldom (though certainly not never) produced a concentrated pollutant source consistently enough to create lasting outdoor or even indoor air quality threats or problems. Cities became incredibly polluted in the early and mid stages of industrialization, so much so that those that could live outside of them did so. Regulation and other factors that moved industry out of urban centers from urban poor, to rural poor areas, essentially diluted the contamination enough that it became somewhat less severe issues for broader areas. The Clean Air Act and its sibling Clean Water Act substantially reduced the negative impacts of industry, which had been radically disproportionately impacting poor and non-human living beings. Regulation and enforcement have continued to struggle to keep up with the propagation of new sorts of industries and their new contaminates, and other factors like corporate lobbying and politicians susceptible to it have hindered their effectiveness. But generally the arc of outdoor air quality over nearly the last century and half has been mostly a trend in the healthier direction, with ozone loss for a time, and throughout the century greenhouse gas emissions as indirect health impacts of air contamination steadily rising.

In the mid to late stages of industrialization our industries were producing new chemicals for household and other products at a rate well beyond what testing, medical and health analysis could keep pace with. Fashion trends in architecture and interior design at times exacerbated this, while health and green building rating systems at least pointed the way to often cost-effective avoidance of indoor health threats from products and materials, albeit without really moving the bell-curve of building industry practice all that much. It would be fair to say that have substantially impacted product and material manufacturing, leveraging the PR and marketing motives of building product manufacturers, though greenwashing still runs rampant. Much of these
efforts fall short of proper prioritization and accurate technical considerations however, and the air chemistry being brought to bear on Ramboland is rarified air, both literally and figuratively (sorry, couldn't resist).

By 1. maintaining a simple material palette, 2. maximizing material reuse, 3. being highly critical of chemical content in all products and materials selected, 4. resorting to new materials only when necessary and via local and scientifically validated and/or certified content, as well as 5. introducing filtration and other treatment within rooms and sometimes within HVAC systems (whichever is more effective in terms of air quality, and often also hard costs, and addressing other air quality issues like temperature and humidity as well) Ramboland will have amongst the most pristine air of any building. This 'optimization sequence' ensures maximum performance and minimal cost. Ongoing air quality testing will add insight and prompt responses to air quality impacts materials and products introduced by occupants (clothes, accessories, food, and other belongings) as well as activities like cooking, bathing, cleaning, and respirating, further strides will be made in controlling for and maintaining super healthy air quality beyond design and construction stages, in a way that can be accessed by education systems and the public at large.

The look and feel of the bathroom will be spa-like, featuring a simple material palette, light colors, and a clean aesthetic.
The bathroom will be spacious for optimal wheelchair use and caregiver support.

Features like grab bars will be placed throughout the space (more than are required), because again, caregivers often rely on them also, and not everyone will always necessarily have access to the suspension system.

Links to:
ACCESSIBILITY PROGRESS NOTE
DONATION NOTE
AUTOMATION NOTE

The reality is that energy in most American cities is centralized, loss-heavy, fragile, dirty, inequitable, unhealthy, and dangerous.

Hubs we call power-plants are a few vulnerable dots on the map, nodes in a system they would collapse by failing, struggling to keep the entire cardiovascular-like system of the energy grid glowing despite huge swings in production and demand, increasingly frequent natural disasters, terrorism, and tactical warfare. For the most part these strained juggernauts either belch out toxic emissions, and/or emissions that are already beginning to thermally skew the balances of our current atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, pedosphere, etc., or they are producing types of waste that will remain a threat to Life longer than any of our current languages have been used on Earth - demanding the impossible task of creating signage to warn of the peril they present that will be definitely understandable hundreds of thousands or millions of years from now is next to impossible.

So the desperate, despotic, and/or vengeful have singular nodes in the form of mostly dirty and dangerous power-plants they can attack to threaten so many at once, and even the system as a whole. Not only are the regions each power plant serves huge, but the region supported by each juggernaut is limited in its ability to support any others, unless we're lucky enough for the disruptions in one to align with moderate or low stresses in nearly all the others.

Along with all these downsides, these juggernauts and the technology they are based upon enabled incredible progress, luxury, and wealth. And if that arc is to continue we must adapt the system, to allow the juggernauts to retire in honor, for the workers that support them to be honored and thanked, and supported in their transition to other roles. The surpluses of the new pattern can allow this to happen.

The house is oriented to optimize sun angles, penetrating or not, depending on time of year and day*. But the house is also designed to account for prevailing winds.

""Prevailing winds"" is a term for the direction wind tends to come from, and in this climate they have tended to come from the Northwest in the Winter (when we don't generally want to be hit by cold air), and the Southwest in the Summer (when we often can benefit from some cross-ventilation and cooling).

So the house is designed with blocking the northwesterly cold winter prevailing winds in mind, with additional layers of vegetation, insulation, walls, trees, and pockets of air**.

Likewise, the house is designed to scoop up the southwesterly winds in warmer months, so when the temperature is within certain ranges the windows can be opened, and the movement of the air can create whats called ""expanded thermal comfort."" This is a term for the effect of more air molecules hitting your skin and absorbing some heat from it thanks to the air moving. This increases the rate the body can release heat energy, and thus requires the air to be less cool than when it's not moving as much. Ceiling fans also offer this benefit but use up some electricity to do so (though less than air conditioning).

When early on in our design process the addition of a greenhouse was being considered, we were concerned this might jeopardize our cross ventilation because the greenhouse would block some of that southwesterly winds in some of the warmer months of the year. So we did a type of analysis called Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). This technology has been used for a longer period in automobile and aeronautical engineering and design so that cars and planes could be made more aerodynamic. The old fashioned way to do it is to place a model of the geometry of the object being designed in a wind tunnel (literally a room with fans at both ends to create high air speed in one direction), and then smoke being blown blowing in the fan so that the airflow is visible to the observers. CFD software allows us to assess our design in a virtual model without building a physical one yet.

Somewhat to our surprise, the introduction of the greenhouse created whats called a Venturi Effect. This is the phenomenon in which sending a fluid (usually air) through a compressed space causes it to speed up, like a nozzle on a hose, or the tapered or fluted cooling towers and smoke stacks on factories and combustion-based power plants. The breezeway between the house and the greenhouse is angled enough towards the prevailing southwesterly winds, that it captures enough wind and compresses, that that wind is actually accelerated into the house a little bit more than if the greenhouse weren't there.
Using CFD created a lot more confidence that we could not only add the additional complexity of a diverse and high tech food system to the project without sacrificing other performance goals, but in fact enhanced our achievement of those goals. The house will actually be able to use active, electricity consuming air conditioning a little bit less, because our breezeway pushes the air a little bit faster into the south-facing windows in house. As the air inside heats up a bit from contact with warm human bodies and other heat sources inside the house, this will actually help it rise a bit and then more effectively be sucked out of the high-up windows on the north wall of the house. The CFD allowed us to do a lot better than the typical ""wishful thinking arrows"" designers so often use to represent how they hope the air will flow!

The split, height adjustable, and mobile island maximizes use of space, surface activity utilization and accessibility. In order to maximize human mobility in the space we have used up a lot of extra square footage for clearance for wheelchairs, etc. This is a bit at odds with our intentions around material and energy use efficiency, because the greater space requires a larger envelope, and that also yields a greater volume of air. Together these increase both the embodied energy and energy use
during its occupancy and useful life, to run mechanical systems to supplement our passive designs, to keep the air comfortable and healthy. So, we had some making up to do by optimizing space. We sought to make both of the main rooms in the house as multi-purposeful as possible.

This one piece of furniture will allow the room to function as a large kitchen, a generous dining room, a spacious living room, a social space, and often any desired combination of these. Not only is this much more convenient and "universal." but it also helps offset the extra square footage and clearances included for mobility improvements.

Altogether now: centralized, loss-heavy, fragile, dirty, inequitable, unhealthy, dangerous...
Our power-plants and factories dump heat and toxins into water bodies, joined by hormones and pharmaceuticals from run-off from our farmland, and drawn into our water treatment plants which cannot remove all of these health threats. Our cities assure our citizens "the levels of hexavalent chromium (and a bunch of other stuff) are below EPA limits," but the recommended dosage if your doctor hasn't prescribed the pharmaceuticals at least, is zero. And the test results are at the treatment plants, while many old buildings and infrastructure, predominantly in poor neighborhoods, schools, and homes, contain additional contaminants like lead (because they haven't been updated in decades), so our most vulnerable and underserved are once again getting the worst version of the most basic resources.

Not to mention that the incredible amounts of energy that create a level of pressure in the system needed to drive flow to all our fixtures, is also both responsible and challenged by the MASSIVE losses to leakage throughout the distribution system. Other than the impacts of the energy use and the production it demands, this might one of the greatest virtues of this system, because it helps to recharge the aquifers that would otherwise be nearly completely cutoff from incoming water due to our the excessive amount of impervious surfaces in our cities - we nearly fully cap the land with hardscape.

We then contaminate all of the water we use, and send it back into the water bodies from whence it came, often without further treatment when rain overwhelms our combined sewer and stormwater systems and outflows into these natural water bodies. Then a town downstream pulls it back in to do it again. From a certain perspective, an alien one for example, it might almost seem like the purpose of the system was to contaminate the natural water bodies, and hurt the living beings throughout the system.

This was not done intentionally, and it is largely a function of unforeseen developments in our societies' growth in both size and industrialization. But it is also now a function of its human operators opposing bigger systemic shifts, and insisting on relegating coping with it to incremental band aid solutions, to one problem at a time, usually addressed by a single technology or technique (often yet another chemical, or energy intensifying form of filtration or treatment).

All the while much cleaner water, at least in some respects, is falling on us from the sky fairly regularly in many parts of the country. We increasingly have more water than we can handle falling out of the sky some times of year, and not enough in others... if only there were a way to take the excess water from the deluges and save it for the droughts! This water has smog, bird poop, pollen, dust, etc. in it, all of which should be removed for human consumption, but that is much easier. And some of that is better to leave in for irrigation water. Whether you treat rain like the sacred, valuable resource it is, or like its a nuisance, it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Stormwater is essentially a curse-word for rain or run-off that would not happen if we hadn't paved over almost everything.

The irony of this ignored resource literally hitting us in the face while we complain about it, and take it from what is now probably the worst stage in the same hydrologic cycle is something that can't be unseen once realized.

And again, when you sit down to pencil the math on whether blocks or districts could meet their own water needs, especially if
that is tied into food systems and nano-/micro-grids producing a surplus of energy, it starts to become clear that our failure to design a compassionate and effective transition from our disastrous current approaches is the primary problem.

Our goal of having no water leave the site horizontally unless it's in a living body (humans or other animals, or plants, usually in the form of crops). In other words any water we need to send on its way beyond those uses must leave vertically, either downward to recharge the aquifer (definition link), or upward into the sky through evaporation and evapotranspiration (definition link). This is very much how a healthy, verdant forest in this Lifeshed (definition link) works. This demands that, like a forest, we gather as much of the rainfall as we can, and use it for living system needs, often multiple times, before letting it go. This allows us to get through dry months and even full droughts, but it also means at other points we need to contribute to preventing flooding in surrounding areas but still get rid of some water, when we’ve already received plenty or even too much rain. Our huge water storage capacity will be more than sufficient most of the time, again helping with increased droughts in the future, driven by climate change. But we are also projected to get more rain in fewer rain events (i.e. big rain storms). NOAA (definition link) and other services can predict this to some extent, and we can utilize predictive information about additional forthcoming rainfall to realize we need to get rid of some water. Our first strategy will be to increase irrigation to the upper levels of our crops’ tolerances. Likewise we’ll maximize our distribution of water to local agricultural partners. Then we’ll have to get more creative.
The two main factors that reduce PV (definition link) efficiency and function are dirt (obscuring the cells from sunlight) and heat. Rinsing our solar panels would address both of these issues, and any water that didn’t evaporate into the sky, would go back through our water treatment and collection system.

Inspired initially by our goals to clean the air in the neighborhood, and realizing that air is cleanest after a big rain storm (having effective “rinsed” the atmosphere of particulate and contaminants) we had another idea. What if we misted site and its surroundings. Not only would this cool the air on the hottest days, but it would also clean it significantly. Then we realized we weren’t the first to think of this. Major cities in China, who had been suffering from the vicious cycle (definition link) of SMOG (hot conditions increase energy use for cooling, which increases energy production at power plants, many of which were actually in the cities, those plants produce more SMOG, making it hotter through the greenhouse gas effect, demanding more cooling, energy-SMOG-cooling-energy-SMOG… and so on). To attempt to short circuit this runaway set of problems they began using some of the energy to blast mist into their cities from huge water canons atop many of the buildings. While this increased energy use even further, it did contribute to SMOG reduction, and thus cooling energy use reduction, and so on. While our neighborhood’s situation is less dire and on a very different scale, the added benefit of releasing some excess water using excess renewable energy, and having all these additional benefits makes some sense, as counterintuitive (definition link) as that may me!

Nothing super innovative here, honestly. Tried and true, energy star certified under-counter freezer (left) and refrigerator (right) and dishwasher (further right, beside sink because it uses water) with a wheelchair pull-in between/beside all of them. The prep space between the two refrigeration units is set at desk height, though may be adjustable. We're leaving the space above the counter on top of the refrigerator open in case an additional refrigerator is desired, or for coffee/espresso machines, toasters, air fryer, or other small appliances.

Links to:
ACCESSIBILITY PROGRESS NOTE
DONATION NOTE
AUTOMATION NOTE

Ramboland sits at a high point in the city, and thus offers some interesting opportunities for wind generation.
Wind turbines (forthcoming link to pronunciation rant) are great in several ways. They tap into a free, ongoing, renewable “fuel” source - namely the wind generated by a multitude of interrelated factors including the rotation of the Earth, globa, regional, and local topography, water bodies, and thermal and pressure dynamics. They tend to produce more energy at times solar energy systems are producing less or none, making them ideal for a more holistic approach at certain scales. This is generally limited to larger scales, because of the size of most wind turbines. They can however be disruptive to humans and other creatures alike, primarily via noise (they tend to emit a low hum or whine that is audible close to them). Noise, we have learned more recently, is one of humanity’s biggest forms of threat to other living systems, not to mention our own psychology. That said there have been some particularly interesting smaller scale technologies developed, whether it be VAHTs (definition link) that can sit on top of buildings or land high points, a technology we have discovered called a Ridgeblade, which is technically a HAWT (definition link) like the big white whirlly pinwheels we all have seen, because their axle is horizontal, but they are designed specifically to take advantage of the fact that air must speed up to get over and around buildings we place upon the ground. They’re also meant to go ont he peak of pitched roofs, like our pre-existing garage, because their own analysis found that that is the optimal place to pick up the greatest airspeeds. What little noise this newer technology creates will be fairly separated from Ron, our neighbors, and our building integrated habitat systems.

As additional technologies emerge and our ability to utilize surplus energy (for revenue and/or great resilience for neighbors) is proven and perhaps grows, utilization of the preexisting surfaces of the garage will certainly make sense.

Since air conditioning (cooling) caught on in the U.S., designers of our buildings have largely ignored the effects of sunlight and wind on them, and as an industry and culture we've mostly lost touch with ways of not only reducing unwanted heat gains in Summer and losses in Winter, but conversely also don't typically consider or know how to maximize the beneficial inverse of these factors.

The shape of buildings, relative to the variances in the path of the Sun throughout each day of the year, have a huge impact on the extent to which subsequent design decisions can further optimize thermal levels. In other words, these earliest decisions in building design will either make subsequent decisions highly impactful or not, with respect to energy efficiency. Even prevailing winds' impact on the surface and ability to pass through the interiors of buildings is driven by the shape and cardinal orientation of the building, which can also help or hurt how much energy needs to be spent to heat and cool the building, especially in what are called "shoulder seasons" or "shoulder months," when, if well designed, heating and cooling systems can more frequently be turned off altogether.

In a healthy village... everyone by about age 10 is acutely aware of the various citizens' needs for nutrition, their ability or lack thereof to get it for themselves, and the place's living systems' ability to provide for them all. One need not walk far to reach the extent of the land that supports all of this, greater variety provided through trade with not-too-distant other villages or districts, who appreciate their alliance.

The variety of sources and harvesting techniques create a harvesting ergonomics that is not only not detrimental to villagers physical health (due to extended repetition of movements in unmoving postures - like picking thousands of ) but actually offers a dynamic and varied exercise, especially when many crops are planted in the same area at different heights, and harvesting activity is shared.

The cycles of nature are understood as traditions and community social dynamics are woven into the processes of the land that feeds and is fed and tended by the people. Longer multi-year cycles are also understood and monitored and considered.

Our cities no longer resemble this image in the slightest, and not just because of their size or density; they are capable of this sort of performance. And they are beginning to work like this in some places. We're realizing our land, heavily fragmented and severed by imaginary boundaries, and real roads, fences, and walls, can produce a great deal of what we need if it is made whole and healthy (which is really the same thing) again.

In most modern built-environment practice it is assumed that a human-built edifice must displace living systems – plants, insects, fungi, other animals, etc. And this is one of our self-fulfilling prophecies. Not many have taken the time to question this like Ken Yeang has. He not only challenges the idea that building must result in a total loss of biomass, but that perhaps there could be an increase in biomass, diversity, vitality, and overall living system health AFTER we have built what he calls 'ecosystem prosthetics.' After all a prosthetic is a human-made tool, instrument, or system designed to restore or expand function and/or independence. What are buildings doing if not expanding an ecosystem's ability to meet our human needs? This framing liberates creativity, but it also exposes the ways in which our buildings
aren't so great at fulfilling their own purpose. Indeed, a prosthetic that makes its user sicker, and/or kills life around its user like our buildings do, would not be considered a very good one.

Bird Houses are probably the most common form of human provided shelter or habitat for other species that aren't considered pets or "live stock." Birdhouses can be designed to accommodate somewhat specific species, to support overall ecological health and help to naturally manage insect and other animal populations – what some call "pest control." Personally, we think that term feels like putting two curse words together.
Birdhouses, also known as nest boxes, are beneficial for many reasons, including:
Nesting: Birdhouses provide a safe and private place for birds to nest and raise their young.
Wildlife habitat: Birdhouses can help qualify your outdoor area as a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat.
Winter refuge: Birdhouses can provide a safe place for birds to roost and sleep during the winter, especially when protective foliage is scarce.
Pest control: Birdhouses can be used to attract swallows, which can help manage flies on farms.
Birdwatching: Birdhouses can provide a great opportunity for birdwatchers to observe the breeding process.
However, poorly designed birdhouses can be detrimental to birds. Some things to consider when placing a birdhouse include:
Location: Place the birdhouse out of the wind, rain, and strong sunlight.
Height: Place small-hole boxes 1–3 meters above the ground on tree trunks.
Materials: Use rough-cut wood slabs, tree sections, or 3/4-inch plywood. Avoid creosote-treated wood, which can kill eggs and chicks.
Paint: Paint the outside of the birdhouse with a dull color that blends in with the surroundings. Never paint the inside of the birdhouse.

Vertical vegetation walls
Vertical vegetation walls offer benefits for both the environment and the buildings they essentially become a part of. They can improve air quality by acting as a natural air filter (absorbing pollutants and producing oxygen), regulate building temperatures (cool buildings by reducing the amount of solar heat absorbed by the walls, and also reduce urban heat island effects), reduce noise pollution (absorb sound, helping to reduce noise pollution in urban environments), and contribute to biodiversity (provide habitats for insects, birds, and other wildlife, help support biodiversity in urban areas). They can also help reduce stormwater runoff by absorbing and holding water.

Outdoor green roof
Green roofs can serve as habitat for numerous species, playing a role in a balanced and self-managing urban ecology. Species found in healthy, curated (initial species selection) green roofs include various insects, birds, and even some small mammals. They can act as stepping stones for migrating species, link fragmented habitats, and increase biodiversity in urban areas.

Indoor green roof
The indoor green roofs act as caps over one-story rooms or closets, allowing air to flow over them to support cross ventilation (link to cross-vent / CFD TT). This solution allowed us to cap those spaces in a way that minimizes cleaning and maintenance, adds additional insulation—particularly sound insulation in the case of the cap over the mechanical room—and provides added benefits such as indoor air filtration and oxygen production.

In a healthy village...
…All energy capacity and needs are understood by many if not all villagers. In times and places in which energy “technologies” amounted only to caloric human efforts, wood burning, and even onsite coal fired furnaces, this meant that villagers were sustainably managing their own usage as well as forest and other fuel source systems within a short travel distance so they never ran out of fuel. Tolerances of much broader temperature swings or extremes were also usually much higher. Architecture almost always accounted for solar angles, prevailing winds, obstructions of both, opportunities to utilize both in energy production / storage, like thermal mass adobe, cross ventilation, stack-effect “roof” openings, evaporative cooling from water bodies and plants, and more. All of these systems and techniques were both teaching tool and subject at once, so that physics, village management, and sacred elements were all learned about simultaneously.
In addition to restoring these “passive” techniques to contemporary construction and management of our habitats, there can be modern American expressions of these elegant and ubiquitously understood vernacular approaches to energy. In a modern American urban neighborhood going through self-directed re-villaging (instead of externally driven economic development, and the gentrification and displacement that almost always comes with it) would likely involve a Community Development Corporation or another candidate entity to serve as a genuinely well-intended positive change agency. This entity would first organize neighbors to be aware, informed, and capable to self-direction, if they are not already (many neighborhoods are, and many are not).

Next focus could shift beyond typical economics-only driven real estate developments that lay bare the landscapes of the neighborhood, vulnerable to vampiric developers who simply want to buy low, sell high, and never really be present in the Place. Instead the shift would be to initiatives like establishing a network of upgraded roofs covered in solar PV, as an extension of already common but underutilized weatherization programs. Furthermore, community held landtrusts or even POA’s (Property Ownership Associations) or a new entity type called an LSA (Land Stewardship Association) which honors the reality of land-personhood, as well as the need to interface with the current paradigm of land ownership. Regardless of entity type, these would establish the permanency and resident ownership and dividend access for managing “central plants” at the core of the block or in vacant rowhomes or lots,, to which upgraded solar roofs would all be tied. Ultimately these manage surpluses of energy across the block to expand to block-centralized heating and cooling, and other beneficial energy uses like pumping rainwater for collection, treatment, and distribution from roofs and even street surfaces for direct distribution of higher-than-utility quality water to homes and agriculture on all utilizable surfaces. This “nanogrid” (because even at block scale this is smaller than most microgrids) would eventually become part of a cellularly-networked mesh of nano-grids connected by physical cabling if power company franchise rights were frozen or redistributed to the CDC’s or RCO’s, or via EV battery exchange choreography (sounds crazy, but transitioning from entrenched, damaging, extractive, cynical systems can involve some pretty counter-intuitive solutions), especially when topography allows for heavy transport of batteries and water downhill, and lighter harvested crops back uphill.

This early establishment of stable, clean, cheap, community managed energy systems creates some resilience amongst existing residents, and establishes steady revenue for an entity, directed by the residents, which can then self-development and/or self-manage others utilizing many alternatives to the typical vampiric approaches to toxic, un-durable and unendurable, intrusive versions of bricks and mortar or bricks and sticks physical homes and other infrastructure developments discussed throughout the rest of this file.

Attitudes towards rain as a nuisance ("stormwater" is a pejorative term) or instead as a life-giving precious blessing (rain/water) are both self-fulfilling prophecies. We pick the second attitude. Our goal is that the hydrology of the site be nearly indistinguishable from that of the temperate forest that previously occupied this site and its surroundings. To that end rainfall is collected to be stored & used to support living processes, often several of them, before leaving the site.

Smog, bird droppings, and pollen are easily removed to create pristine water without chemical hormones, pharmaceuticals, fluoride, chlorine or Cr6), while maintaining some nutrients living bodies can benefit from. Tap water with added chlorine to kill pathogens does not make great irrigation water either, because it is a biocide.

Raised gardening beds on-site are a good solution for urban farming as they allow for soil quality control, enhanced water drainage, and ease of access for people with and without mobility limitations. Raised beds will also be part of the YIMBY food system for the same reasons.

It was important to Ron to have an office space, to do email and participate comfortably on Zooms. It is also important to his health and the ideal functioning of a home that accommodates a caregiver to stay overnight, at least on occasion. Given the opposite timing and some complimentary shared equipment (big TV/monitor, table surface, etc.) and our goal of maximizing feasibility and cost-effectiveness, despite doing so much more) we felt we could combine these two spaces into one. Using a large, elegantly disguised murphy bed system, we have designed a lovely, daylight, highly functional area that we believe serves both of these important uses in the same square footage. Another technique added to the list that includes the dynamic/transformer-like furniture we are including elsewhere (link to table Vignette)

Ron Rambo may be responsible for more curb cuts (definition link) and ramps getting added in the City of Lancaster than any other human. As a necessary user himself, Ron has not stopped at attempting to improve his own access, but has been an activist and advocate on behalf of all folks with differing mobilities. That said, most American cities, because ADA (definition link) is structured in such a way that grandfathers (definition link) many business, city systems, and buildings into pre-ADA requirements and features, it is still very hard to get around even public areas for many citizens. We have found that many folks, even social and environmental activists, are unaware of this, thinking “that’s no longer an issue, ADA fixed that a long time ago.” In fact, as important as ADA was, it took some of the wind out of the larger movement advocating for progress in these areas, and we must continue to innovate, expanding access in not only economically and environmentally sustainable ways, but in ways that allow more of us to thrive together, in all ways, including economically. Ramboland is proving this is possible, in part by changing the scale and expanding the types of systems we combine. The synergies among energy, water, food, conveyance and mobility, and policy and financial systems are huge, but only if we can look at things differently than we’re accustomed to. Ramboland will cost less to build than Ron will need in subsistence benefits from the state, and it will self-sustain and self-expand financially. What if this was the default for how we address these things all at once.

There is a convenience lavatory/sink in the bedroom as well – this is just that, convenience. Especially for care-givers convenience in having rapid access to a sink and faucet in the bedroom for drinking or cleanup needs. Like the kitchen sink and faucet, an additional control is included here to manage the low amounts of irrigation the indoor green roofs in both spaces will require – which will also assist in dust control on those horizontal out of reach areas, and the green roofs will help to moderate air contaminants, oxygen levels, and humidity levels, not to mention provide a biophilic (Insert definition link) psychological benefit.

Links to:
ACCESSIBILITY PROGRESS NOTE
DONATION NOTE
AUTOMATION NOTE

Recent innovations in hot water heaters have led not only to a more widely available energy efficient option than typical gas fired or even old electric water heater technology. But hot water heat pumps have also introduced a new source of cool air. As these units produce hot water buy pulling energy out of the air, they expel cooled air. In the winter this can be a bit of problem, because you’re effectively placing a small air conditioner, usually in your basement, during months you’re already spending too much energy on heating. We will exhaust this cooled air to the outside of the building in these months. But precooling the air in our mechanical room in the warmer months is a benefit.

Coupled with a few hot water solar panels on the roof, not only will we be able to produce all the hot water we need using very little energy, but we are also investigating a warmwater, subsurface irrigation system to supplement heating in the greenhouse and even extend growing seasons in outdoors raised beds. One of the many living-lab experiments we’ll be doing early on.

For those that have never had to worry about lateral mobility once they learned to walk, it may not be obvious why you would split a cooking range in half to put a prep space in the middle of it. Sliding back and forth laterally in a typical wheelchair is hard enough, let alone while handling sharp knives and hot pots, pans, and foods. If chefs and home cooks alike who rely on wheelchairs and can use their hands effectively can do all their prep in one position and move pots, pans, and foods on and off of induction burners without having to reach down and grab their wheels or electric chair controls to reposition over and over again, it could take a lot of the difficulty out of cooking.

Induction technology makes this easier than ever before, not to mention they are safer because the surface is not heated directly, and usually safe to the touch even immediately after or even during cooking. Most units also allow you to set an exact temperature. This is a big part of why, although some debate wages on, many of the world's most respected chefs and cooks feel that induction cooktops are the best way to go, even better than natural gas burners that introduce contaminants to the breathing zone along with the methane, which we're* finding leaks not only in our homes whether the appliances are in use or not, but throughout our cities from the gas lines. This introduces significant explosion and air quality risks, in addition to the negative environmental impacts on par or beyond any other fossil fuel**.

Links to:
ACCESSIBILITY PROGRESS NOTE
DONATION NOTE
AUTOMATION NOTE

Having already designed a building envelope that allows wind and sun to do more of the cooling and heating when its needed most, and as little as possible when its not wanted, the remaining heating and cooling loads (link to definition) are quite small. This “downsizing” or “right-sizing” (link to definition) allows significant cost savings, and depending on how a project decides to think about it, it could be considered to create an allowance that can be spent to get more expensive technologies - which could still cost less than typical because they’re so much smaller.

What better place to put a WIND veil than a BREEZEway?! Wind veils are beautiful, biophilic building screens that indicate the flow of air, creating liquid-like waves (which have been found to have a calming effect on humans) across the surface of the building. Not only will this be a way to create an educational element, but a way to add some beauty to a wall that was solid because of the need for energy efficiency in the greenhouse. This will help us to actually observe how accurate our CFD (computational fluid dynamics) analysis was, when we were concerned about the greenhouse inhibiting our carefully designed cross ventilation through the house.

For much of the design process we have planned to provide an overhead track system to support a hanging mechanism that allows Ron, visitors, and/or future residents to be comfortably suspended, and moved easily around the house to key fixtures, appliances, furniture, etc., by a caregiver or their own control interface. Accommodating this structurally and architecturally was challenging and increasing complicatedness and cost. Getting it through doors, and to all those locations was particularly challenging. We recently expanded the track idea to go throughout the entire house however, rationalizing that the track itself was not the costly part, and it even being a somewhat fun ""ride"" for some fit well with the theme park implications of the project name. And yet it was still not universal in the access it granted and getting more over-the-top than might be reasonable even for this swing-for-the-fences project. And then it occurred to us that maybe we could hang the components that actually suspend our bodies from a floor-based mobile unit, something like an engine block lift. We thought this was very clever. In what couldn't even be considered an ""ah ha"" moment, but more like a ""yeah duh"" moment, we realized these make those already. Of course they do. They can fit through doors, turn and move along on casters, change height and orientation for different fixtures, furnishings, and appliances, and more. They can be operated by motor, or caregiver elbow grease.

That said, if we're not able to get the one we want, we may still modify an engine block lift! Which might actually be cooler and cheaper, and perhaps our partners who work and learn in fabrication and robotics labs might help us make that!

Via YIMBY and partnerships with DECA City Farms and others, the pattern will spread throughout the area, via the agreement and non-monetary "buy-in" of those neighbors that wish to connect. This pattern of deep resilience, healthy and clean resources, community ownership of shared infrastructure, and innovative means of distributing those resources, grows stronger and more self-sustainability and self-directing as it grows with the consent of those it seeks to connect and serve.

After perfecting the geometry of a building accounting for the uses within, immediate surroundings, and larger climate considerations like sun angles, temperature, humidity, and wind all day everyday, the attributes of the building envelope (definition link) are the next set of considerations in the optimization sequence (definition link):
The reflectance levels of the outside surfaces;
The window sizes, placement, insulation value (definition link), solar heat gain/rejection level (definition link), visible light transmittance (definition link), and operability (definition link), and window-wall ratio on each face of the building, all in conjunction with further tuning the building overhangs and other geometry
The walls’ and roofs’ R-value / insulation levels (definition link) and leakage rates (definition link)
Newly introduced deliberate obstructions beyond existing surrounding plants and buildings to further manage climate influences on the building (definition link).
In reality some iteration amongst all of these direct and related considerations will happen throughout design, but focusing on these at this stage is key to maximizing the health and performance of the building.

Buildings don’t just sit there all closed up all the time. As people come and go we temporarily create gaping holes in the envelopes we’ve worked so hard to perfect. These gaping holes are called doors. In fact, when striving to provide greater than code levels of accessibility, these are even bigger than typical. Imagine how much repeatedly unzipping your coat on a cold day would impact your thermal comfort experience, and how much energy your body has to spend to keep warmer. Huge gulps of outdoor air are exchanged with the indoor air every time doors are operated. Unlike windows or operable wall panels, which we generally open for longer periods when the outdoor air conditions are pleasant, we open and close doors throughout the year, regardless of outdoor conditions. Not only that, as we ourselves pass in and out of the house we bring in contaminants on our wheels, shoes, clothing, and baggage… especially our wheels and shoes.

Having a vestibule (definition link) at least at the most frequently used door of a building can significantly address all of this. They’re required by code in commercial buildings for energy reasons. By limiting the “gulp of air” to a pocket between two doors and which for pressure reasons doesn’t all exchange with the outdoors, can radically reduce the threat to energy that the front door represents. They are also the perfect places for walk-off mats or grates, to get a lot of the continents off of our tread that contacts the ground outside, keeping the interior air and surfaces cleaner. Seating and rinsing systems can also make sense in such spaces, where there is room to upgrade them to being a full mudroom (definition link).

Formerly known as the “Back-yard buy-in program” the concept has long been that this will be a consent-based counter-displacement and wealth-generation-enabling strategy. In other words, it's been an answer to the question “how do we enroll neighbors who wish to join forces in a systems expansion and sharing approach that enhances their current homes and yards, expands the capacity of the Ramboland food, energy, and water systems, producing more of all those forms of value, and thus creating a revenue for existing neighbors without them needing any up-front money to do so?”
The intention is that it be a way for primarily the residents already living nearby to gain significant ownership (legal ownership ideally), in the systems we’re creating that will net
health and wealth after meeting basic needs on site… so that the proverbial short chains attaching their ships to anchors are broken, and so “high tide” actually can raise all ships (link to metaphor), and not drown existing residents whose economic chains are shorter than the rise in tide. i.e. Economic development is only good for those that can remain to benefit from it without it forcing them out (link to “economic displacement” definition)