Thesis Abstract:

This thesis is a cohesive design solution that integrated tornado resistant structures, community design, future implications of climate change, and the home and garden.

As global warming progresses architects and engineers will no longer have the luxury of producing buildings re-liant on modern technology to make up for flawed design. In many ways, current events have hastened the necessity for sustainable housing, especially in Tornado Alley. As the earth warms supercelll storms, spawning extremely strong tornadoes, will become far more common. This project is a directly concentrated on these future forecasts.

Prairie Gardens: A Sustainable Solution for Tornado Alley, sets a precedent for future projects directly corre-lated to the recovery efforts of the horrific 2011 Tornado Season.The houses designed are sustainable prototypes, inspired by the Native American Earthlodge, for tornado ridden areas. The community plan that was devel-oped has a grid like arrangement that has the possibility for expansion and evolution as society evolves beyond the automobile and reliance on oil reserves. Using Greensburg, Kansas as example this thesis promotes the importance of preserving aspects of society, especially the most sacred of entities, the home.