Last Friday, the 13th, in Rancho Tico restaurant, the community of Nosara gave a warm welcome to architect Tobias Holler and his students from the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), who are going to be in charge of making a recycling center possible in the zone.  

The presentation started at 6 p.m., when guests were received with tasty typical food.  Afterwards expositions were presented to people who arrived interested in listening, seeing the plans and providing new and valuable ideas to this great project. 

Tobias Holler explained the importance of a high-quality recycling center for the town, taking into account the natural elements and making them part of the project. The students with the four winning projects visited national heritage constructions like the Casona of Santa Rosa in order to take back ideas to New York and to make some modifications to the projects they already have. 

Holler told VON that “there was a lot of interest, and many of the students had conversations with community members. Some local construction professionals gave input as to the feasibility of certain ideas, such as using captured rainwater for cooling of the facility.”

The students want to give 100% to their work, guaranteeing a building that can adapt to climate changes.  Esthetically, they look to include local artistic structures, a lot of ventilation and to take advantage of industrial construction materials so they are utilized architecturally. One of their more ambitious desires is that the project serves as an example for the entire country. 

In the month of July, they will be back in Nosara with new proposals that will include the opinions and experiences contributed by the community in this meeting, and to begin construction. 

With regards to financing the recycling center, whose cost could exceed $20,000, Holler said that, although the details of the final cost of the project still need to be finished, “There are some funds already committed to the project from various local organizations, but a significant portion of funds will still have to be raised in the coming months.”

In turn, Holler is requesting “donations of construction materials, as well as volunteer services from Nosara construction professionals in order to minimize the cost.”

The good news is that the responsibility for raising funds does not fall exclusively on the community of Nosara, since the NYIT team will also help with fundraising efforts in New York.