Biography

In the southwest Rocky Mountains, my formative years were spent shaping – and shaped by – nature. My architectural career proceeded to harness natural forces and materials through the planning, design and construction of communal rainwater catchment pavilions in Rwanda; solar/geo-thermal powered, net-zero energy neighborhoods and mixed-use urban infill projects in the USA; and self-sufficient, digitally-fabricated engineered timber homes, greenhouses, public space interventions, and "biocities" in Europe. My doctoral research investigated how geospatial networks can inform the place-based natural material value chains for development we’ll need to meet the demand for a worldwide doubling of built floor area by 2060 – while mitigating and adapting to global climate change by advancing carbon neutrality, resource security, ecosystem services, and ecologic as well as human health and wellbeing. I recently returned to my hometown of Durango, Colorado, where I’m now applying the lessons I learned abroad to help address the region’s severe shortage of sustainable and attainable housing.

Previous Education

Polytechnic University of Catalonia Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings 2018
University of Colorado Boulder Environmental Design 2009

Links

https://valldaura.net
http://salka.studio
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelsalka