burning man is planning a sustainable, permanent space called fly ranch

last year, the COVID-19 pandemic required burning man to cancel their annual event in black rock city nevada. the gathering, which sees 70,000 burners erect a city in the middle of the desert and explore various forms of artistic self-expression, is still uncertain about its luck this year. the good news is that its organizers have been working on a new permanent space — the fly ranch.

(main image) ripple by matthew lagomarsino, william jacob mast, pierre-yves bertholet, xiaojin ren, scherwyn udwadia, bas kools, israel orellana, and melika tabrizi integrates electrochromic glass, a bioceramic dome (geoship SPC), seed bank, solar photovoltaic, cisterns, drip irrigation, composting toilets, and native restoration plants to provide shelter, food, medicinal herbs and teas, habitat enhancement, water harvesting, 36 mwh/year of electricity, and 40,000 liters/year of harvested water. a top ten proposal to the LAGI 2020 fly ranch design challenge.

(above image) SEED symbiotic coevolution by samantha katz, woody nitibhon, henry o’donnell, lola lafia, eric baczuk, john hilmes, max schwitalla, and colin o’donnell incorporates solar, geothermal, passive cooling, composting, greenhouses, aquaponics, biodigesters, and greywater recycling. a top ten submission to the LAGI 2020 fly ranch design challenge.

back in 2016, the burning man project bought fly ranch, a 3,800-acre ranch a few miles away from black rock city with the idea of creating a year-round sustainable and awe-inspiring space. in 2020, they partnered with the land art generator initiative (LAGI) and launched a competition asking the burning man community to join in co-creating this space. ‘this design challenge is an invitation to artists, architects, designers, builders, scientists and burners of all kinds to come together and create a collective project that lasts well beyond a week in august,’ read the official communication. ‘through art, technology, and innovation, LAGI 2020 fly ranch will bring together sustainable and scalable solutions for power, water, shelter, food, and regeneration in the black rock desert.’

the source by mateusz góra and agata gryszkiewicz (tamaga studio) uses solar photovoltaic, battery energy storage, water cistern, rammed earth thermal mass, fruit trees, fruit walls, and compost to contribute 250 kg/year of food, 2.2 mwh/year of electricity, 9,000 liters/year of water, habitat enhancement, environmental education venue, and soil replenishment. a top ten submission to the LAGI 2020 fly ranch design challenge.

ultimately, the challenge chose 10 design projects which will be given grants to build their prototypes at fly ranch. according to LAGI, ‘teams were asked to integrate sustainable systems for energy, water, food, shelter, and waste management into works of art in the landscape. the objective is to build the foundational infrastructure for fly ranch, support burning man project’s 2030 sustainability goals, and engage a global audience to work together towards systemic transformation, and serve as an inspiration for the developing field of regenerative design.’

nexus by antoniya stoitsova, nicolo bencini, ben naudet, avi greene, alex ogata, and tom kendrew explores the design capabilities of ferrock, a sustainable alternative to concrete that absorbs co2 through the curing process of building components.  a top ten submission to the LAGI 2020 fly ranch design challenge.

the ambitious proposals take sustainability at center stage. for example, NEXUS plans to use ferrock as a sustainable alternative to concrete; solar mountain employs recycled and solar photovoltaic materials to make electricity; and ripple which features a bio ceramic dome made of electrochromic glass intertwines drip irrigation, composting toilets, seed banks, cisterns, native restoration plans and more.

check our the whole shortlist on LAGI here.

starship by alexander dzurec, ivan spratte, and tim schwartz incorporates repurposed shipping containers, solar photovoltaic, water harvesting, greywater and blackwater treatment, greenhouses, composting to create a closed loop multipurpose event space and flexible living modules. shortlisted proposal to the LAGI 2020 fly ranch design challenge.

lodgers: serendipity in the fly ranch wilderness by zhicheng xu and mengqi moon he brings together composting toilets, reclaimed timber waste, traditional thatching methods using local materials, computational script-generated parametric design, and native species shelters to provide an environmental education venue, soil replenishment, sustainable waste management, and habitat enrichment for fly ranch. the top-ranked submission to the LAGI 2020 fly ranch design challenge.

solar mountain by nuru karim and anuj modi uses solar photovoltaic, and recycled materials to contribute 300 mwh of electricity per year and interactive spaces for play and exercise. a top ten submission to the LAGI 2020 fly ranch design challenge.

evolving community in oasis: E.C.O. by tatiana prevezentseva, pelikh anna vitalievna, shkarupa anastasia aleksandrovna, ryseva tatiana sergeevna, murashko tatiana andreevna, and starostin nikita dmitrievich uses low temperature pyrolysis to reduce waste streams while providing power to a series of multipurpose spaces with interactive experiences and fertilizer to agricultural fields. shortlisted proposal to the LAGI 2020 fly ranch design challenge.