Costa Rica Travel 2015-2016
Generously supported by:
Dear Traveler, It is a great pleasure to welcome you to our effort in providing education to children internationally who are most in need. Our opportunities to advance educational infrastructure in Costa Rica are profound, and through our partnership with the Ministry of Education, sensitive and responsible design, and our passionate travelers, KaTO will create progress at an unprecedented scale. We have had the opportunity to build schools alongside community members for their children, to immerse in their culture, and to experience the tangibility of the built projects watching the children attend. It is difficult to leave the communities after the bond has formed between our team and the families during their overwhelming hospitality. We have a tremendous power to ensure that all children, regardless of the cycle of poverty they are born into, are given the opportunity to liberate themselves through education. KaTO has made it a priority to call upon the brightest talent in design and construction to respond to these needs. Our efforts would not be possible without the dedication and support of our travel teams. We look forward to building with you! Kyle Thomas Murphy Founder and Executive Director
DESIGNER KaTO DESIGN, INC. RICHMOND, VA 23223 ARCHITECT OF RECORD ALEJANDRO BERMUDEZ TABLADA MANAGUA, NICARAGUA STRUCTURAL WALTER P MOORE ENGINEERS AND CONSULTANTS WASHINGTON, DC 20006 STEEL PURLIN/ PERLIN METALICO STEEL RAFTER/ CAJA METALICA 15 CM DEEP CONCRETE RING BEAM/ VIGA CORONA OWNER MINISTRY OF EDUCATION MANAGUA, NICARAGUA CLIENT buildon, INC. PRIMARY ACADEMY NICARAGUA Stamford, CT 06905 C-CHANNEL STEEL STUD/ 15 CM DEEP CONCRETE RING BEAM/ VIGA CORONA 20 CM CONCRETE COLUMN/ COLUMNA DE CONCRETO 15 CM DEEP CONCRETE INTERMEDIATE BEAM/ VIGA INTERMEDIA REVISION NO. DESCRIPTION DATE 10 CM CONCRETE SLAB/ LOSA DE CONCRETO 25 CM CONCRETE SEISMIC BEAM/ VIGA ASISMICA CONCRETE FOOTING/ ZAPATA DE CONCRETO KaTO PROJECT NUMBER 11000.000 DATE 04 AUGUST, 2014 ISSUE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS SHEET TITLE PLOT DATE: 8/6/2014 11:11:19 AM STRUCTURAL AXONOMETRIC SHEET NO. A9.01
I. abstract KaTO is a design/build studio which constructs schools in developing countries. Our effort is led by our design team of students and professionals from architecture, engineering, and construction. Once the designs are complete, the team travels to the community where construction will take place. Student designers
II. travel KaTO offers a travel program which invites any person, regardless of his or her background, to travel with the design team and help build a school for underprivileged children. Traveling allows project supporters to develop a direct relationship to the school project, rather than providing contributions towards a foreign mission. The team lives in the community during the project, immersing in the culture at a very personal level. Excavation for school construction
STEEL PURLIN/ PERLIN METALICO STEEL RAFTER/ CAJA METALICA 15 CM DEEP CONCRETE RING BEAM/ VIGA CORONA C-CHANNEL STEEL STUD/ 15 CM DEEP CONCRETE RING BEAM/ VIGA CORONA 20 CM CONCRETE COLUMN/ COLUMNA DE CONCRETO 15 CM DEEP CONCRETE INTERMEDIATE BEAM/ VIGA INTERMEDIA 10 CM CONCRETE SLAB/ LOSA DE CONCRETO 25 CM CONCRETE SEISMIC BEAM/ VIGA ASISMICA CONCRETE FOOTING/ ZAPATA DE CONCRETO DESIGNER KaTO DESIGN, INC. RICHMOND, VA 23223 ARCHITECT OF RECORD ALEJANDRO BERMUDEZ TABLADA MANAGUA, NICARAGUA STRUCTURAL WALTER P MOORE ENGINEERS AND CONSULTANTS WASHINGTON, DC 20006 OWNER MINISTRY OF EDUCATION MANAGUA, NICARAGUA CLIENT buildon, INC. Stamford, CT 06905 REVISION NO. DESCRIPTION DATE KaTO PROJECT NUMBER DATE ISSUE SHEET TITLE SHEET NO. III. partnership KaTO has arranged a partnership with the Ministry of Education of Costa Rica, which oversees all school construction, staffing, and curricular development. The Ministry has defined educational needs on a large scale, and KaTO is responding by scaling design and funding efforts to meet these needs. The Ministry has pledged that all schools constructed will be supported with teachers, supplies, and equipment. PRIMARY ACADEMY NICARAGUA 11000.000 04 AUGUST, 2014 CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS STRUCTURAL AXONOMETRIC PLOT DATE: 8/6/2014 11:11:19 AM A9.01 Kit of Parts
IV. community KaTO also partners with the receiving community during construction of the school. Community members and the KaTO team together sign a pledge at groundbreaking, promising to provide the necessary labor to complete the project. If I can dig, so can you!
V. expertise New design teams, partnerships with local architects, engineers and contractors in Costa Rica have been arranged, and communities to receive schools have been identified. KaTO has also partnered with prominent design and construction firms in the United States. Conceptual building studies
VI. responsibility Replicating the same school design in many communities may be time efficient, but each climate and culture requires architecture which is sensitive to a range of factors at a multitude of scales. Therefore, KaTO creates a new project design for each community, and travelers on the team become part of a one-of-a-kind project. New ideas are are always in abundance
VII. design A timeless work of architecture serves not only an educational need, but inspires people across generations. Parents in impoverished cultures often keep their children out of school for need of producing income for the family. By helping construct a new and innovative building for their children, these same parents begin to associate education with higher value. La Estrella conceptual design
VIII. ownership You take care of that school, I helped build that for you. Community member handprints in concrete (Photo: Rosann Jager)
IX. epicenter Our architecture strives to provide uplifting and comfortable space which children will seek out for learning. The buildings also serve as gathering places for the communities. During the design process, we complete intensive research to support the integration of the project into the culture, as well as performance of the building with regard to lighting, ventilation, clean water, and energy use. La Estrella conceptual design
X. support Construction costs are supported by corporate sponsorships, foundations, and travel program fees. A corporation or foundation may support a percentage of the cost of one school, which will be matched by individual travel fees. Travel fee: $2,350 Approximate cost of school: $35,000 (Subject to change per material costs and new designs) Travel team tying re-bar for concrete columns
XI. vacation A typical vacation, including airfare, hotels, transportation, and attractions will often exceed $3,000-$5,000. Because airfare from the United States to Costa Rica is inexpensive, lodging takes place in the community, ground transportation occurs in a large group, and the attractions are a rising school at the heart of a community, $2,000 of the travel fee is used directly towards school construction, and is tax-deductible. These funds support materials, construction supervisors, and logistical costs. The remaining $350 is used for meals, transportation, and other operational costs. Building blocks awaiting masons
XII. construction During the trip, travelers have the opportunity to work alongside the design team and community members, learning the process of construction and immersing in the culture. The design team of students and professionals guide the rest of the project team during construction. Teaching the design
By giving supporters a direct relationship to the built project through travel, we allow for sustainable funding for new school construction. The three most common ways to provide the program fee are: + + + As an individual, which will allow for $2,000 of personal tax deduction. Ask friends and family to support you in building a school, either through direct contributions or an online fundraiser. For group travelers, consider the power of a group fundraiser to send a team for construction. Ask your company to sponsor you, and we will include your company s logo in our promotional materials and allow the company to publish photos from the project to highlight strong corporate responsibility.
Team + Kyle Thomas Murphy Founder and Executive Director + Florence Christine Graham Designer and Travel Director Prior to founding KaTO, Kyle worked with HKS as a sports designer for NFL, MLB, NBA, and collegiate stadiums and arenas world-wide. After departing from corporate architecture, he founded KaTO as a response to the tremendous opportunity for architects and engineers to confront the international need for education. Kyle has been active as a visiting instructor for hand delineation seminars at Virginia Tech. Florence is an architectural designer working on new construction, high density residential projects in the DC Metro area as part of KTGY Architects. She graduated from Virginia Tech and won the international Solar Decathlon competition in Madrid, Spain with Virginia Tech s LumenHaus team, a project which was recognized with an honor award from the American Insitute of Architects. + Marcy Wheeler Designer and COO + Theresa Kelly Designer Marcy has been a designer with UVA-based Initiative ReCOVER, and received the Jefferson Public Citizens Grant to design and construct a primary school in rural Uganda. Marcy is also part of the Perkins + Will team in Atlanta, and has been a designer for cultural and residential projects in Turkey, as well as for projects as part of the firm s Social Responsibility Initiative. Tess is an architectural designer with Kishimoto, Gordon, and Dalaya in Washington, DC. Her work since graduating from the Virginia Tech School of Architecture includes a variety of residential and interior design projects, with a focus in affordable housing. Tess is a passionate traveler who s wanderlust and enthusiasm for experiencing other cultures has taken her throughout Eastern Europe, and to the Middle East, Africa, and Central America. + Eric Saylor, AIA Designer + Gordon MacGregor Designer Eric is an educator, architect, and photographer, and has worked as a designer for HKS Architects and Price Studios on a range of project typologies and scales. He currently is a visiting faculty member for VCU interior design students, serves on the Board of Directors for AIA-Richmond, and is a licensed architect in Virginia. A graduate of Virginia Tech s School of Architecture + Design and the Washington- Alexandria Architecture Center, Gordon has been a designer with Build With Prospect, Inc. a design/build worker cooperative located in Brooklyn, NY focusing on sustainable/low energy design and construction methods through the Passive House Standard, and recently with Kulinski Group Architects in Old Town Alexandria, which specializes in residential and commercial projects.
Katoarch.org