Land Art Generator Initiative. Co-creating a New Future.
July14, 2021 Release
Elizabeth Monoian and Robert Ferry are co-founders of the non-profit Land Art Generator Initiative, also known by LAGi. LAGi was started in 2008 and has rapidly grown to become an international player in the conversations and solutions around our current transition to post-carbon economies.
The Land Art Generator’s goal is to accelerate the transition of energy away from traditional carbon-based fuels to sustainable, renewable energy. The LAGI mission is to build new energy infrastructure that adds value to public spaces in ways that inspire and educate, all while providing equitable power to homes around the world.
Photo Credit: Beyond the Wave by Jaesik Lim, Ahyoung Lee, Sunpil Choi, Dohyoung Kim, Hoeyoung Jung, Jaeyeol Kim, and Hansaem Kim utilizes organic thin-film solar photovoltaic for an annual capacity of 4,229 MWh. A submission to LAGI 2014 Copenhagen
Elizabeth and Robert are very clear that this transition, has been, and will continue to be incredibly challenging for a wide range of reasons, including the scale of the infrastructure changes that are needed as well as the visual impacts on the landscape of these changes. To accelerate this transition, we will need to rethink the development process for renewable energy projects so the built outcomes are a reflection of the culture and places within which they are located.
To this end, LAGi has focused on holding international design competitions that are linked to multigenerational, community-based education and art. Their approach is to build a bridge between communities, their existing policies, and renewable energy developers to accelerate the implementation process. Their projects span from the initial 2010 launch in Abu Dhabi, to Copenhagen, Denmark and Melbourne Australia. US projects include New York City's Freshkills Park, in partnership with Parks and Recreation, Santa Monica, CA, in partnership with the City, and the Black Rock Desert of Northern Nevada, in partnership with Burning Man Project.
Photo Credit: Lodgers 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 LAGI 2020 Fly Ranch.
LAGI’s process focuses on community co-creation as a means to directly address social justice issues in our communities as a means to accelerate the adoption and implementation of renewable energy projects. In each step, they fully engage community members, empowering them as decision makers and project ambassadors. With a wide range of age levels, they weave together technology education with art, what is now known as STEAM education.