The Wisdom Tree & Living Desert Institute

Acclaimed musician and guitar-maker William Eaton came to Ecosa with the vision to turn his Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery into something more than just a world-renowned guitar-making school. On a 9-acre site at the fringes of urban Phoenix he seeks to incorporate the school into a proposed Living Desert Institute where galleries, demonstration spaces, a research library, archeo-astronomical features, and gardens would engage students, faculty and the public in an experiential forum for sustainable concepts. From ethnobotany to renewable forestry, water conservation to responsible building practices the curriculum should not only be taught but sensed in the design of the site.
Two teams of Ecosa students collaborated in the development of a site master plan as well as schematic designs for the school as the focal point of the Institute.

Students analyzed the existing and potential sights and sounds to be addressed in the site design.

Building the school on this site will require a change in zoning.   This site plan prepared for the Maricopa County Zoning Board illustrates changes in topography and basic footprints of the parking, landscape features, and buildings.

A schematic plan submitted for zoning approval shows the new buildings focused about the sunken commons.   This "well" becomes the physical and metaphorical genesis for the mission of the Institute offering a public forum for experiences and storytelling of the "Living Desert."   The north retaining wall features a solar and water clock.   Orchards and gardens narrate the seasons, offer edible fruits and shaded spaces for outdoor gatherings.                   

A new Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery, "the Wisdom Tree" serves as the anchor for the Living Desert Institute. Students met with current faculty and students to determine the program for the new facility.