Sustainability Laboratory and Urban Garden (SLUG) at CITY High School

April 10, 2020
Who
Associate Professor of Architecture Christopher Trumble, CAPLA Students and Others
What
Design/Build Project, Faculty Work, Student Work
Where
CITY High School in Tucson, Arizona
When
2018
Categories
SLUG

Sustainability Laboratory and Urban Garden (SLUG) centers on a narrow alleyway located between Tucson, Arizona’s CITY High School and a neighboring property acquired as part of a middle school expansion. Measuring just 12 feet wide and 127 feet long, the alley represented the school’s only outdoor space.

Over the course of a year, the SLUG team—which was led by Assistant Professor of Architecture Christopher Trumble and included CAPLA students Dulce Arambula, Dengjie Chen, Andrew Cusick, Peng Gao, Ryan Haines, Nikota Litzin, Dailong Ma, Dillon Mariano, Joe Miranda, Jordan Pascua, Crosbie Roper, Michael Vo, Mekael Wesley-Rosa, plus landscape architect Gina Trautner, architecture lecturer Dan Maher and resident architect Samuel Paz and gardeners and middle and high school students—reimagined and rebuilt the alley as a place for hands-on learning, play and urban agriculture.

A historic façade renovation grant put the purchase of a neighboring building that would become the middle school within reach, though that resulted in an uninhabitable and publicly accessible alley between the original CITY building and its future expansion. A $35,000 Green Fund grant seeded the CAPLA outreach studio led by Trumble that would partner with SCP and CITY.
 

SLUG space

 
SLUG accommodates multiple age groups, school-based and public events, growing and eating space, and formal and informal teaching and learning. Every component is flexible, adaptable and multi-functional, guided by the SLUG performance criteria: sustainability+laboratory+urban+garden. The space today is an active component of the CITY culture and curriculum and a model of sustainable design in downtown Tucson.

For additional information, view design/build project details, photos and testimonials:

Latest CAPLA News, Projects and Profiles

Water flows rapidly over rocks and past riparian vegetation in Aravaipa Canyon while red rock cliffs tower in the background.

Indigenous Nations and the Right to Water: Relationships, Resources and Futures | Lecture by Heather Whiteman Runs Him

Heather Whiteman Runs Him is a citizen of the Apsaalooke/Crow Nation. She is the Director of the Tribal Justice Clinic and Associate Clinical Professor at University of Arizona Rogers College of Law where she also teaches courses on tribal water rights, tribal courts, and tribal law.

A woman and two men pose for a group photo.

Extreme Heat Planning Works: Building on a Proven Platform at the Second Annual Southern Arizona Heat Summit

Held at the University of Arizona’s ENR2 building, the 2nd Annual Southern Arizona Heat Summit brought together experts and community leaders to discuss strategies for extreme heat preparedness, featuring presentations from City of Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and other officials.

See More