Research digest — Double Play at Los Ranchos Agri-Nature Center (pitch support)

Assembled 2026-07-13 from three parallel research agents. Confidence flags: [verified] = fetched/confirmed directly this session; [agent] = extracted by research agent from the cited URL, not independently re-fetched.

Venue (primary/official)

• Larry P. Abraham Agri-Nature Center, 4920 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM; 40+ acres (25-acre former Anderson Winery + Anderson Fields). Mission: “a center of excellence in regenerative agriculture,” organized around three pillars — education, research, economic development. Programs: community garden (30 plots), Healers Garden, farm camps/workshops, churro-sheep fiber, beekeeping, growers market, agritourism, matanzas. [verified] https://www.losranchosnm.gov/agcenter
• Agri Futures / Master Plan 2035: positions Los Ranchos as “the Center of Excellence for regenerative urban agriculture in Central New Mexico.” Already runs demonstration research (landrace chile varietal trials, growing-method trials) and sustainability infrastructure (acequia/drip irrigation, soil health). [agent] https://www.losranchosnm.gov/agri-futures

Why famous / regional heritage

• Steve Baer (1938–2024) moved to Corrales — adjacent to Los Ranchos — in 1968; founded Zomeworks (~1970); co-founded the New Mexico Solar Energy Association (1972, Ghost Ranch); his Corrales Zome House stayed comfortable indoors while exteriors topped 100°F. [agent] Corrales Comment obituary, 2024-06-14 (already in wiki: raw/articles/2024-06-14-corrales-comment-baer-obituary.md).
• Honors: 1989 ASES Passive Solar Pioneer Award; 2010 Global Award for Sustainable Architecture (UNESCO patronage). Beadwall = US Patent 3,903,665. Featured in the Whole Earth Catalog (1969, 1971). [agent] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Baer
• TU Delft published a formal case study of the Corrales Zome House. [agent] DASH vol.4 no.07 (2018): https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/dash/article/view/4723
• Society of Architectural Historians (Archipedia) documents the Baer House (built 1971–72) as “one of the most innovative experiments in the use of passive solar energy to heat and cool a modern dwelling,” following the Bridgers & Paxton Solar Building, Albuquerque (1950s) and preceding the Earthships. [verified 2026-07-13 — quote confirmed verbatim via search snippet of the SAH page; direct fetch still 403] https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/NM-01-043-0142
• Victoria & Albert Museum (London) acquired a Baer Zometool into its permanent collection (2020). [agent] https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1577849/
• ASES — “Passive Solar Development in New Mexico”: names Baer “one of the classic passive solar entrepreneurs in New Mexico”; NM as the proving ground (Balcomb/LANL test cells; Ghost Ranch Sun-dwellings 1976; Balcomb House 84% annual solar heating). [agent] https://ases.org/passive-solar-development-in-new-mexico/

Precedent — demonstration buildings at nature/garden/education sites

• SLO Botanical Garden Education Center (San Luis Obispo, CA): straw-bale passive-solar education/assembly building where “the building itself is the teaching tool”; PV, rainwater harvesting, constructed-wetland wastewater; designed by Ken Haggard & Polly Cooper (Haggard is already a wiki concept, a Balcomb-era NM passive-solar figure). [agent] https://slosustainability.com/project/botanical-garden-education-center/
• NC Botanical Garden Allen Education Center (UNC): first LEED Platinum public building in NC; passive-solar orientation + PV + geothermal; galleries/education rooms; university-partnered. [agent] https://ncbg.unc.edu/ncbg/aec/green-features/
• Cornell “Living Laboratory”: 300+ sites where working infrastructure doubles as hands-on STEM/sustainability teaching; documented outcomes in behavior change and course grounding. [agent] https://sustainable.cornell.edu/focus-areas/living-laboratory

Farm utility & public-education value (with numbers)

• UGA Extension passive-solar greenhouse (B1566): held nighttime air ~36°F warmer than an unheated high tunnel even at -22°F outside; ~1 extra month of season; water barrels and a sand wall stored heat about equally (cheap materials choice); summer interior ran ~20°F above open field (needs shade/venting). [agent] https://fieldreport.caes.uga.edu/publications/B1566/
• UMN Extension Deep Winter Greenhouses: passive-solar + soil/rock thermal mass enable winter greens production; backed by a farm network + enterprise budget tool. [agent] https://extension.umn.edu/growing-systems/deep-winter-greenhouses
• DOE: a well-designed passive-solar building can cut heating costs to less than half of a typical building; thermal mass (incl. water) stores day heat and re-radiates at night; applies in hot-dry zones. [agent] https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/consumer-guide-passive-solar-home-design-fact-sheet
• LBNL / UC-Berkeley CBE (FLEXLAB): radiant heating/cooling saved 17–42% vs a baseline VAV HVAC system — roughly ~17% in cool-humid climates rising to ~42% in hot-arid climates like Albuquerque (hot-dry has the largest sensible-cooling share); water moves heat ~3,500× more effectively than air; ~half of human heat exchange is radiative (comfort). [verified 2026-07-13 — pmmag figure confirmed (17–42% vs VAV; 3,500×); climate gradient corroborated across LBNL/CBE FLEXLAB + PNNL-24904] https://www.pmmag.com/articles/105496 · https://flexlab.lbl.gov/radiant-cooling · https://www.pnnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/PNNL-24904.pdf
• Root cellar / thermal-mass produce storage: below frost line earth holds ~50–55°F; a good earth-sheltered cellar holds ~32–40°F with no electricity; passive vent “charging” of thermal mass is a teachable technique. [agent, secondary] https://www.farmstandapp.com/20156/natural-cooling-methods-for-root-cellars/
• Resilience (cross-source): no compressor and no fan → keeps working during power outages.

Funding routes

• USDA REAP (renewable-energy systems / efficiency for ag producers & rural small businesses; up to 50% of eligible cost). [agent] https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/energy-programs/rural-energy-america-program-renewable-energy-systems-energy-efficiency-improvement-guaranteed-loans-9
• USDA Economic Impact Initiative Grants (NM) — prioritize “energy efficiency and education.” [agent] https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/community-facilities/economic-impact-initiative-grants/nm
• USDA Rural Economic Development Grant — “facilities and equipment to educate and train rural residents.” [agent]
• Leads: NM EDD Rural Efficient Business Program; UNM School of Architecture studio/research partnership (design-build studio could build it). [agent]

Caveats for the pitch author

• The term “Double Play” is documented on Zomeworks’ own site and in the Baer archive/Kayatekin paper, not in the ASES or obituary sources — cite Zomeworks + Kayatekin for the system itself.
• Chronology: the built demo of record is the 2004 Bruce Davis Studio (Kayatekin; kept a 236 ft² studio 73.5–78°F while ambient swung 58–94.5°F). Treat any “2007 Dave Houses / Swiss absorbers” phrasing as unverified — the directly-verified Zomeworks page says only “two test outbuildings at Zomeworks HQ” plus the Albuquerque cargo-container test.