Desert Soul; Learning Conservation Through Self Revelation

Abstract

This thesis, Desert Soul: Learning Conservation through Self Revelation, will focus on an investigation of the question, how can insight from past cultures of the Sonoran Desert inform and direct conservation and sustainability for the future of the desert? The typology for this examination will be a mixture between hospitality and a museum building combined into a 20,840 square foot facility with a site located in Marana, Arizona. The guiding idea behind this investigation is, “man cannot fully enact change in himself and society for the good of a sustainable future of the Sonoran Desert until the individual has had the opportunity to relate to and learn from the past cultures from that region and from the ecology in which the individual is participating.” The justification behind this project is that “man cannot save the desert through conservation and sustainable practices if he does not also understand the ecology and learn better ways to inhabit the Sonoran Desert. An architecture that supports and provides for this kind of knowledge is essential to the future of the Sonoran Desert.” The theoretical premise, unifying idea and problem statement will be researched in this project through a Mixed Method, Quantitative Qualitative Approach while following a Concurrent Transformative Strategy.