Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ) is an organization whose mission is to foster an under- standing of the principles of environmental justice and urban sustainability in young people in order to promote the long-term health of communities. In July 2013, the EcoCenter was certified by the USGBC as a LEED Platinum building.

Rana Creek Living Architecture collaborated with Toby Long Design on the Literacy for Environmental Justice’s Living Classroom, a flagship “living system” project for the Bay Area. Located in the post-industrial Hunter’s Point district of San Francisco, the project supports nearly all of its own infrastructure activity. Integrated photovoltaic panels on the living roof and the use of passive solar design supplement a conventional HVAC system.

Cutting edge water management systems capture, harvest and convey water throughout the site. Dedicated to environmental preservation and education, the project includes a “living machine” to process blackwater and use greywater throughout the development. These processes are celebrated in water features, portrayed through educational displays, and ecological applications taught through the classroom curriculum.

Rana Creek Living Architecture’s ecological approach to the roof and landscape provided habitat for the native wetland species and wildlife that have inhabited the site at Heron’s Head Park, a thirty-year-old landfill.