ARCH-4980.2 | Jeremy Carvalho, Adjunct Professor

Ter[RAIN] Re[CREATION]

LINDSEY DUBAS

Many non-human organisms within the desert have adapted themselves to live in the desert, while humans have adapted the desert to better fit their needs .For example, the cactus has a pleating pattern which collects and directs the flow of water, while the roots of the cactus work to expand their subterranean surface area, extracting even more water from the ground and building on the capabilities of survival and growth in the desert.

The Truckee River runs from Lake Tahoe, a steady fresh-water source, through Reno, Nevada and into the desert, providing water for the resource loop within this specific desert, helping to support life within the barren terrain. The hot-arid climate of Reno, Nevada suggests a water harvesting system that could be adapted to the multi-purpose and programmable scale of the loops. Not only could an agricultural environment build up, but it could also be the main supplier of other systems; for example bio-industrial growth, fuel, supply, the breakdown of agricultural product and the reuse of the material in restaurants or market-places.

The existing economy in Reno is extremely unstable, mostly due to the increasing liberal views and legality of other cities within the United States. In creating a self-sustaining system that does not require high continued maintenance costs, the system could provide jobs and an open-program venue, like a city-center, to provide an exchange of money through markets, clubs, or rentable real-estate.