Spotted: Wanting to help make the long-standing agricultural practice of remineralising soil with rock powder even more effective, a team of researchers formed InPlanet. Focused exclusively on accelerating the natural carbon removal that occurs when carbon dioxide reacts with silicate rocks and water, the process cleans the air and improves crop outputs.
Working with mines across Brazil, the company is scaling a sustainable farming practice that has been practiced in the country for generations. The high temperatures and consistent rainfall of the tropics significantly affect the quality of farmed soil. But, spreading ground rock across the fields improves soil biodiversity, and particularly its mineral content, as many commercial fertilisers kill off helpful growth as well as weeds.
Once the crushed rock is spread, the CO2 will remain inground for thousands of years, whether in the field itself or as sediment in the oceans if it runs off. Farmers can save money they would otherwise spend on chemical fertilisers, and as well as enriching the soil, the rock captures high volumes of CO2 that would otherwise remain in the atmosphere.
The country has set itself a goal of certifying up to 1,000 mines by 2050 as suppliers of the rock for agricultural use. InPlanet is using its research and development (R&D) capabilities to help farmers economically justify the switch from pesticides and other synthetics to enhanced rock weathering (ERW) field management. Having recently closed an oversubscribed €1.2 million pre-seed round of funding, the company is planning to expand its team and monitoring capacity.
From growing minerals underground that lock away captured CO2 to using sequestered carbon for industrial processes, Springwise has spotted a range of ways that captured carbon dioxide is being used.
American studio Eskew Dumez Ripple has used features of vernacular architecture in creative ways to form a sustainable, multipurpose school building.
The Home Building is part of the Thaden School, a private school in Bentonville, Arkansas, that serves students in grades six to 12.
Rainwater is collected and stored in a pond, or “water lab”, at the Thaden School. Photo is by Tim Hursley
With a focus on learning by doing, students engage in activities such as filmmaking, constructing bicycles, and growing and preparing food.
The school is backed by the Walton Family Foundation, which is led by the founders of the retail giant Walmart.
The school’s 26-acre (10-hectare) campus was master-planned by Eskew Dumez Ripple – a studio based in New Orleans, Louisiana – in collaboration with local firm Marlon Blackwell Architects, landscape architects Andropogon and engineering firm CMTA.
The team took cues from the area’s pastoral heritage for the architecture. Photo is by Dero Sanford
Eskew Dumez Ripple was tasked with designing the Home Building – a 34,000-square-foot (3,159-square-metre) facility that holds a dining hall, teaching kitchen, bookstore, library and lounge/study spaces.
“The Home Building serves as both the social and spiritual center for students,” the architects said.
Eskew Dumez Ripple added a study room to the project. Photo is by Dero Sanford
While designing the facility, the team took cues from the area’s pastoral heritage, including its vernacular architecture.
“The design reconciles seemingly contradictory notion: lofty ambitions for the building’s design with the humble nature of local, vernacular architecture,” the firm said.
A gabled, slatted canopy made of poplar wood features in the dining room. Photo is by Tim Hursley
Zigzag in plan, the wood-framed building stretches across the site, bending at several points to create porches and courtyards.
Facades are clad in shiplap cedar siding and board-and-batten siding made of white, fibre-cement Hardie panels.
Facades are clad in shiplap cedar siding. Photo is by Tim Hursley
The building’s different parts are topped with either single-slope or gabled roofs, all of which are covered with standing seam metal.
Within the building, the team used basic finishes such as concrete flooring and white-painted sheetrock, and incorporated special accents like custom millwork in the study hall and a live-edge wooden table in the teaching kitchen.
Eskew Dumez Ripple used basic finishes within the facility. Photo is by Dero Sanford
At the heart of the facility is the dining room, which rises to 38 feet (12 metres) at its highest point and features a glazed wall. Hung from large, exposed trusses is a gabled, slatted canopy made of poplar wood.
“The design employs common materials and methods in uncommon ways,” the team said.
The building has a number of sustainable features, including low-flow plumbing fixtures, a geothermal well and an energy recovery wheel.
Rainwater is collected and stored in a pond, or “water lab”, that serves as a teaching tool for students. The landscape is filled with native species like prairie grass and pecan trees.
The building has a number of sustainable features. Photo is by Tim Hursley
“Sustainability is placed at the forefront of the students’ education, and the landscape functions as a botanical textbook rife with plants that represent a microcosm of the region’s native species,” the team said.
With plans to install a photovoltaic array in the future, the building is designed to achieve an Energy Use Intensity score of 23. A score of 25 or less for a school building indicates that the building is “zero energy ready”, according to the architects.
Thaden School building is located in Arkansas. Photo is by Dero Sanford
The Home Building at Thaden School was a recipient of the 2022 AIA Architecture Awards.
Other projects there include the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, designed by Sadie Architects, and a co-working, dining and recreational venue by Brand Bureau and Modus Studio that is located within a former industrial building.
