Vive Verde is under construction and has a new website where you can track construction progress and learn more about the Living Office building.

South Station interior perspectiveSouth Station is a mixed use, multi unit development located on one acre in the M-1 district south on the Salazar Rd. extension in Taos, New Mexico. The project program includes professional office space, light manufacturing, and light retail. The architecture is contemporary, yet grounded in a regional tradition, assisting in defining a new regional contemporary style for Taos and Northern New Mexico. The individual spaces within the development range from small studio size spaces to larger, open plan spaces all with balcony style lofts.

Existing and proposed development in the vicinity of South Station includes light manufacturing, small scale retail, professional office space and some residential. Currently there is a plan for a green/open space on the southern border of the South Station Property which will include a park and other recreational amenities. Architecturally, South Station will be at home with several other buildings that are stylistically regionally contemporary.

The structures are described as four building clusters, three of which have a central larger unit and one smaller studio loft on each side. The studio spaces are approx. 861 sq. ft. (20’x30’ footprints) each and will be outfitted with a full bathroom and an efficient kitchen with an open loft covering 35-50% of the floor space. Larger service doors or garage roll-ups will provide easy access to delivery trucks or equipment on some units. The Larger spaces of approximately 1728 sq.ft. each will be expanded versions of the studios.

Living Designs Group has been named one of the top 100 Co-op opportunities through the University of Cincinnati:

For my first co-op, I ventured to the great southwest-- specifically to Taos, NM. I spent the summer working for [Living Designs Group], an architecture firm in Taos that specializes in quality design with integrated waste water treatment, solar energy use, and other environmentally friendly architecture techniques. The project that I spent most my time working on is a four-story commercial/ residential building in Santa Fe. The design is beautiful, and the building will have a waste-water treatment facility on site. How cool is that!

The unique set of tools that Living Designs Group can use to help make Living Systems technologies accessible to clients and the general public are featured in an article by Ethan Timm in the November 30, 2005 edition of ArchitectureWeek:

 

Potentially, photorealistic architectural presentations may confuse an audience more than clarify. By implicitly claiming to look "real", they could actually hinder some creative conversation between architect, client, and the general public. Without claiming to be real, at least in the visual sense, digital presentations that emphasize explanatory diagrams can successfully demystify a project's complex infrastructure. At Living Designs Group, LLC (LDG) we have found that digital modeling and production tools help explain to clients and users the complex sustainable systems underlying our 3D site and building models...

Using this combination of digital tools, we can go beyond traditional architectural representations and show how a building functions and how it interacts with its site and environment. The integration of sustainable systems within buildings and across entire sites is key to the architectural practice at LDG. Our presentations help make complex systems more accessible to clients and building users.

Read the entire article at ArchitectureWeek.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Taos, New Mexico, December 2005— Living Designs Group (LDG) is an architecture and engineering firm specializing in sustainable systems design. Formerly, Dharma Living Systems Inc (DLSI), this team of engineers, architects, and ecologists provides design services with an emphasis on sustainability, for all types of commercial, multi-family, educational, or institutional projects worldwide. LDG is the primary designer/supplier of Living Machine® systems for wastewater treatment and recycling.

The Living Designs Group philosophy is that development does not have to equal environmental degradation. Their broad understanding of natural systems, eco-architecture and engineering allow LDG to deliver unique architecture that integrates water and energy efficiency, effective layout, and aesthetics into cost effective and successful developments. The company is a valuable partner to other engineering and architectural firms as a “green” consultant and/or consulting engineer for integrated water, wastewater and stormwater management.

Living Machine® systems from LDG are engineered wastewater treatment systems that harness natural processes to provide advanced decentralized treatment. These systems produce high quality effluent that consistently meets tough discharge requirements. LDG recently introduced an advanced generation of Living Machine systems that feature a reduced footprint design and improved treatment, while reducing energy costs, simplifying O&M requirements, and easing installation. The new systems are a cost competitive, ecologically responsible approach to wastewater treatment, disposal, and reuse. The Living Machine® Technology has also been used for effective and attractive stormwater treatment and reuse.

For more information visit the LDG website at www.livingdesignsgroup.com or contact the ecological systems experts at Living Designs Group, LLC, 125 La Posta Road, Taos, NM 87571,TEL: 505-751-9481, FAX: 505-751-9483.

Living Designs Group featured in the Hi-Desert Star:

 "Do you know that the average person uses about 90 gallons of fresh water per day?" Jim asked. "What if we could cut that usage to 10 to 20 gallons?" he coaxed, and then launched into a description of the Dharma Living Systems wastewater treatment and recycling facility he and the partners would like to build into The Living Sanctuary.

Located in Taos, N.M., Dharma Systems is making quite a name for itself as the authority in "green building systems."

It integrates alternative energy and wastewater systems into communities, resorts and housing developments, and operates on the idea that ecosystems make the most reliable infrastructure. Most exciting of all to The Living Sanctuary planners is the demonstrated capability of Dharma-equipped facilities to operate perfectly well on collected rainwater in areas with annual rainfall amounts of just six to eight inches.

Except for fire use and long-term drought, the Meltons and Davis venture, The Living Sanctuary could have no need for an outside water source.

For as daring as this sounds, the venturing doesn't stop there...

link to full article

The Living Machine at the Sharon, VT rest center is up and running, using wastewater treatment to create a beautiful envionment for weary motorists.

The New York Times (August 31, 2005) reports:

It is a rare rest stop attraction, especially in Vermont, a humid greenhouse soon to be filled with orchids and other flora better suited to steamy jungles than snowy mountains. But this exotic enticement is possible here because of the most mundane of rest stop features: flushing toilets. The State of Vermont has installed a system that uses plants and organisms to clean wastewater at a rebuilt rest stop on Interstate 89 here, 10 miles northwest of White River Junction, and then pumps the treated water back to the toilets for reuse.

Link to NYT article: Vermont Blends 'Green' Flush Toilets and a Greenhouse

  Combining state-of-the art sustainable technologies with regional architectural forms, Living Systems®, Inc. has greated a prototype for a SuperGreen Living Home.


This residential home, under construction in Taos, NM, combines solar electricity, solar hot-water, rainwater collection, and integrated wastewater treatment into a home that is designed to reflect the regional historical and vernacular architecture.

Construction photos show superinsulating thermal mass Rastra construction. For more information and more construction photos, visit Living Home.

A portion of Paseo del Pueblo Sur in Taos, NM was selected by the EPA to receive assistance with Smart Growth planning - to include recommendations for ways to "plan for growth in ways that sustain environmental and economic progress and create a high quality of life."

From the EPA website:

The localities were selected from a nationwide application process. In this first round, the locations range from cities to an inner suburb to small towns. We will organize multi-disciplinary teams who will provide direct technical assistance as specified by the community.

The communities selected are:

Taos, New Mexico: This town of 4,700 people is seeking assistance to obtain community input on design and development issues along the 3.3-mile Paseo del Pueblo Sur (State Highway 68) corridor. With the community input and the team’s assistance, Taos will create plans, policies, and codes to foster development in the corridor that reflects the unique character of Taos, stimulates economic development, and improves environmental quality.

Click to read more ...

The Living Lab project - an innovative educational facility slated for construction in Taos, NM, was featured in the May 2005 edition of School Planning and Management.

Living Lab

SP & M article (pdf)