We are in a condition we don't yet fully understand. How will we move forward into the future? How will we leave this world? What is our legacy? In the developing world, more than half of the cities are yet to be created. If we could build a new foundation we could harness the energy we could plan for a better future we could take better care of our ancient friend, How would we do it, Where do we begin?
We are the Sky Institute We have A Bold Mission. We are leading a movement towards a new way of building for the 21st Century. Driven by research, reflection, and greater social and environmental awareness, the collective aspiration of planners, scientists, architects, environmental engineers, environmental defense attorneys, food producers, scholars and students are inventing the village of the future. We are making the theoretical real..
We Believe in A New Philosophy In the 21st century there is a modern breed of thinkers whose mindset is both traditional and boldly innovative. Stewards of the land, we long to thrive within the natural beauty of the environment while seeking innovation the brightest ideas, the most sophisticated technologies, and the preservation and regeneration of precious natural resources. We seek a place that is transformative yet classic, sophisticated yet old world a more harmonious way of living that curbs our impact on the environment, creates meaningful commerce, and defines a lifestyle that balances the science of living with the art of living.
We Build vibrant, healthy places Where connection is frequent and natural; where mind and spirit are engaged; where the environment itself promotes vitality, and where meaningful commerce is interwoven into the fabric of the community..
We Grow in The Air of Exotic Possibility Graceful. Insightful. Bold. The Sky Institute inspires us to taste the fruits of the land and to preserve its natural resources, with an integrity that shapes our actions in the present and our impact on the future. Sky is gardens, orchards, flowers and fields, and continues the legacy of the cultivation of them for future generations. We sponsor didactic gardens, test farms, organic urban farms, roof gardens, community gardens, and a host of other beautiful and pragmatic means of local food production.
An ancient way of seeing; a new way of doing The Sky Institute is analyzing and reevaluating how we build, with the ultimate goal of creating a transformative place that will change the way we live.
Honoring our Environmental Stewardship We dwell in the vital interface between human habitat and natural habitat, the delicate balance of productive land to natural land. We are working to preserve our precious natural resources, land, water, and sky, the very air we breathe. We are reducing energy consumption. We are harvesting water, and reusing water. We are conserving land, and creating protocol for the protection of productive natural environments, the tidal marsh, estuaries, and spawning grounds. We serve to restore, renew, and replenish the fecundity of the Earth.
Legacy Design Homes and buildings that produce more energy than they use, that are green and living, that are built with regionally valuable materials, that are healthy and free of toxins and chemicals that are harmful to us and our earth, that stand the test of time, with the principle of adaptive reuse, of lasting construction that is able to change as our needs change, of materials that are durable, recycled or reusable, that are testaments of endurance in their own right. that integrates the mechanics of a building to work as a whole, and utilizes renewable energy technologies that reduces the energy requirements of lighting, heating, cooling, and ventilation. Our homes and buildings contribute to our health, well being, and productivity with fresh air, natural light, and natural materials, where green and gardens abound. The Elevation of the Rotunda [University of Virginia], Cornelia J. Randolph
Reviving the Agrarian Tradition with the design of food producing places, in the ancient tradition of agricultural villages, that aggregates density and allows for the preservation of surrounding farmlands that reinvigorates the historic permaculture practices of our Founding Fathers. This is the gate of my garden. I invite you to enter in: not only into my garden but into the world of gardens a world as old as the history of man, and as new as the latest contribution of science; a world of mystery, adventure and romance; a world of poetry and philosophy; a world of beauty, and a world of work. Elizabeth Lawrence Through the Garden Gate
On the Drawing Boards Planted firmly in tradition and armed with a sense of urgency, energy, and insight, we are cultivating plans for our future with a distinctly exploratory approach. Assessing the dystopian implications of the built environment of today and designing and building living laboratories for tomorrow, the Sky Institute serves as an international incubator of ideas and ideals for building in the 21st century. We are creating the foundation for our future
Creative Invigorated by the energy of the sky, and calmed by the movement of the wind through the trees, adapting appropriate styles of building, using immediately available materials to create luxury, so completely integrated into the surrounding environment as to be scarcely noticeable informed with a spirit that is both primitive yet intensely modern. Innovative To excite and challenge the innovative thinking of artisans, scientists, and gardeners. The convergence of art, craftsmanship, and science that lays the groundwork for the Sky Institute to stimulate architecture that is wonderfully responsive to environment, full of beauty, intelligence, style. Visionary The inspirational qualities of this new spirit the passion for the land, the sky, the water, the forests and the fields a refreshingly simple solution to a less complicated way of life.
Designs emerging from the interactive process of every aspect of their setting, local building traditions based on locally available materials and craftsmanship, climate, geology, hydrology, ecology. High performance energy efficiency, atonement to the sun
Buildings designed for generations, that integrate technology with older strategies. What we leave our children and their children's children, with nobility of materials.. A traditional type that is simultaneously elemental and original, embed with style, drama, romance. Digging deep in the dirt, connecting with the earth. The heritage of working the land, cultivation of resources. Judicious approaches to the earth's resources, productive land in balance with natural ecological systems..
Anchored by tradition and climate, focusing on the vernacular as a repository of ecological wisdom, where technology and tradition are comfortably linked.. Walled, courtyards, gardens, enveloped in green walls, contained growth, espaliered fruit trees, arbors, verandahs, galleries, breezeways..
The landscape is modified with installations of productive planting, groves of fruit bearing trees, arbors, water reservoirs, fences, sheds, windmills, refined, advanced elements of pastoral lifestyle. Beautifully embedded in and adapted to their context and climate..
Models in admitting natural light and ventilation, configured to amplify breezes, and with north facing clerestory, to reduce the need for electric lighting.. Raised on piers, houses that tread lightly, preserving the woodlands and natural drainage patterns.buildings of light construction that conserve natural resources. To observe, hover above and not disturb. Merging buildings with their natural surroundings, buildings with restraint and respect for nature.
Touching the wild, nomadic, unrestrained. A didactic model of disengagement with the land, transporting us into the wilds of a different place. Overhangs designed to allow the building to be ventilated through open windows, to break the force of the wind against these, and to intercept the rain so that the windows may be safely left open at night to allow nighttime purging of summer heat. Those who prefer sensual awareness brought by gently fluctuating conditions... the wind, the sun, and the rain.
Town houses, live works, cultural centers Roof gardens, terrace gardens, container planting, community gardening.
All contents copyright 2011 by Sky Institute Inc. All rights reserved. All drawings copyright 2011 of Starr Sanford Design Associates. No part of this document or the related files may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.