Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2011 Traditional building materials and the sustainability of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal College design Riley Christopher-gallagher Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Architecture Commons Recommended Citation Christopher-gallagher, Riley, "Traditional building materials and the sustainability of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal College design" (2011). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 12010. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/12010 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Traditional building materials and the sustainability of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal College design by Riley Christopher-Gallagher A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Major: Architecture Program of Study Committee: David A. Block, Major Professor Lynn Paxson Kristie J. Franz Cornelia B. Flora Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2011 ii Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 1 The Cheyenne and Arapaho ............................................................................................... 5 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 5 1.2 The Spirituality of the Cheyenne ................................................................................ 5 1.3 The Spirituality of the Arapaho .................................................................................. 7 1.4 Cheyenne Culture ...................................................................................................... 8 1.5 Arapaho Culture ....................................................................................................... 10 1.6 Movement ................................................................................................................ 11 1.7 Education ................................................................................................................. 14 1.8 Government ............................................................................................................. 17 1.9 Community ............................................................................................................... 20 2 Relevant Theories and Literature ...................................................................................... 24 2.1 Ecological Sustainability .......................................................................................... 24 2.2 Cultural Sustainability .............................................................................................. 35 3 Method of Design .............................................................................................................. 45 3.1 The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal College ............................................................ 45 3.2 Cultural Considerations in Design ........................................................................... 47 3.3 Sustainability Considerations in Design ................................................................... 56 3.4 Goals, Systems and Material Selection ................................................................... 79 4 Materials in Depth ............................................................................................................. 80 4.1 Introduction to Material Selection ............................................................................ 80 4.2 Concrete .................................................................................................................. 82 4.3 Glass ...................................................................................................................... 104 iii 4.4 Steel ....................................................................................................................... 118 4.5 Bamboo ................................................................................................................. 136 4.6 Lifespan ................................................................................................................. 145 5 Community Contributions ................................................................................................ 154 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 154 5.2 Potential Majors ..................................................................................................... 154 5.3 The Building ........................................................................................................... 158 5.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 161 6 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 163 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. 164 Appendix A .......................................................................................................................... 166 Appendix B .......................................................................................................................... 170 Appendix C.......................................................................................................................... 174 Appendix D.......................................................................................................................... 179 Appendix E .......................................................................................................................... 183 Appendix F .......................................................................................................................... 190 References Cited ................................................................................................................ 197 1 Introduction Spiderwoman told us, if we take care of the Earth, the Earth will take care of us. - Tantoo Cardinal (McLeod, 2002) In decades past, the word sustainability was associated with economic growth, efficient allocation of resources, and financial stability. As long as the economy was growing and resources were being exploited, companies and citizens were making money. In other words, sustainability referred to sustained economic growth. Sustainable economic growth is defined as ―an increase in through-put, which is the flow of natural resources from the environment, through the economy, and back to the environment as waste‖ (Daly, 2011, p.6). The unfortunate consequences of such sustained growth include resource scarcity and depletion; natural habitat destruction; air, water and land pollution; and the fact that human activity is outpacing the ability of the Earth to renew itself. ―This kind of growth, of course, cannot continue indefinitely, as the Earth and its resources are not infinite. While growth must end, this in no way implies an end to development, which we define as a qualitative change or realization of potential‖ (Daly, 2011, p.6). Human beings stop growing physically at a certain point in life, yet a qualitative change can continue as a person develops his or her potential by studying, travelling, and gaining experience. The contemporary understanding of ―sustainability‖ is complex and often difficult to define, as it can be applied to economics, culture and ecosystems. The term became widely used in its present sense in 1987, after it appeared in a UN report by Norway‘s former prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, who defined sustainable development as ―meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs‖ (Werbach 2009) – which takes the ecological point-of-view. More recently, as Michael Pollan, the author of The Omnivore‘s Dilemma, writes, the whole idea of sustainability has been ―in danger of floating away on a sea of inoffensiveness. Everybody is for it - whatever ‗it‘ means‖ (Werbach 2009). Instead of focusing on economic activity and ignoring everything else, the focus of sustainability is shifting to the concept of gently using virgin resources and waste sinks in a manner that allows for ample regeneration. It is part of the present-day vocabulary in architecture firms and schools and yet there are few building 2 projects that truly incorporate the idea of sustainability. This thesis shows that through design, both ecological and cultural sustainability can be achieved in a building project while stimulating development and potential within a community. Most Native American tribal cultures‘ world views include people in relationship with nature or their ecosystem around them rather than the western view of being separate, outside and over (stewards or overseers) the world of plants and animals around them (par Paxson, 2010). The western view sees the world as resources to be used for and by people