ecoREMOD2– The ADAPT modules mark the 1st ecoMOD international project. For many years, the UVA Department of Architectural History has operated the Falmouth Field School in Jamaica to document and preserve buildings in a city that has been radically changed — a major cruise ship terminal has been newly constructed. The Field School has paid particular attention to a group of small wood frame homes in a neighborhood that was settled by free blacks. The work of the UVA Field School to identify, stabilize and restore these buildings is progressively and effectively promoting the district as a place of reframed identity and community pride. Nonetheless, these houses are occupied by the community’s most economically disenfranchised and have long been neglected by the community as old and out of date. Houses are slowly being replaced by new concrete homes that have bathrooms and kitchens – amenities entirely absent from many of the older structures. In Falmouth, the field school is supported by the local efforts of Falmouth Heritage Renewal , a non-profit preservation organization with over a decade of experience in historic preservation in Falmouth.
During the summer of 2011, the ecoREMOD2 team joined the Falmouth Field School to design renovation strategies for the existing building to create a climate responsive kitchen and bathroom module that builds on local landscape traditions and optimizes the immediate ecosystem. The modular designs balance rigorous sustainable design strategies with the realities of a limited budget. The collaborative interdisciplinary team partnered with FHR to construct the modules and restore a tiny historic home in Jamaica. The ecoREMOD2 team consisted of UVA undergraduate and graduate students from the School of Architecture (architectural history, architecture, landscape architecture and planning), the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (civil and mechanical) and the McIntire School of Commerce. The summer Falmouth Field School also included students from Lake Forest College, University of Mary Washington, and University of Technology, Jamaica.