This video was produced by the Universidad de las Americas (UDLA) in Quito, Ecuador. It provides a brief synopsis of the collaboration between UDLA and Carnegie Mellon University’s Urban Design Build Studio (UDBS) during the La Tolita Workshop held from November 14th through the 18th. The workshop was run during the XX Pan American Bienal de Arquitectura, and feeds into a larger research project and community based design effort led by UDLA in Guapulo, a neighborhood in Northern Quito. Students and faculty collaborated with a local settlement farmer on the development of prototypes for no-cost vertical gardening strategies predicated entirely on the use of waste material. The UDBS was very fortunate to be given the opportunity to collaborate with faculty and students at UDLA. Special thanks to UDLA School of Architecture and Design Dean Mauricio Moreno Vintimilla for his generous support of the workshop; and the energy and enthusiasm of UDLA faculty Nuria Vidal, Jose Antonio Serrano, and Grace Yepez.












