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Adjacent to a secluded beach along the shores of Nicaragua, approximately 12 kilometers from the Costa Rican border, Edya Kalev, AB ’92, directs a group of women as they each apply soothing, intentional pressure to their hands, feet, and spine.

The participants at the retreat inhale deeply, emitting the occasional sigh of relaxation as they alleviate tension with specialized balls and rollers that Kalev transported from her studio in New York.

A seasoned instructor of the MELT Method, a self-directed massage approach used for alleviating pain, Kalev has facilitated such sessions for many years. However, her experiences this past February at Evolutions Trainings in Nicaragua are particularly memorable—both due to the picturesque location and some fortuitous connections to WashU.

The retreat took place in a striking, unique bamboo structure where monkeys could be seen climbing freely on netted walls. Light radiated onto the expansive oval platform where classes were conducted, streaming in through apertures atop two distinctive bamboo columns.

“It feels as if you’re integrated with the environment, not isolated from it,” Kalev remarks. “You genuinely have the sense that you can breathe there and that you aren’t confined.”

That feeling, Kalev soon realized, was intentional.

“I’m delighted to hear that the feeling was evoked, as our goal is to create healthier environments,” states Wyly Brown, assistant professor at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. Brown designed the platform in 2023 alongside design collaborator Michelle Fleming, founder of Orthopedic Yoga Therapy and owner of Evolution Trainings retreat center.

Brown and Fleming have together explored bamboo construction techniques globally, including in Bali, Costa Rica, and the U.S. In Nicaragua, they partnered with local artisans to experiment with sustainable and health-conscious building methods.

“My methodology often involves what’s termed ‘research through design,’” Brown clarifies. “I create actual structures and test various aspects. It’s research that evolves into a usable structure instead of being disregarded.”

Brown’s students have participated in projects both abroad and in St. Louis, creating yet another unexpected connection with WashU in Nicaragua. During the February retreat, Kalev encountered Orion Strayer, AB ’24, who had served as one of Brown’s research aides while at WashU. Strayer had traveled to Evolutions Trainings to work as a bamboo design intern for six weeks.

“I’m incredibly thankful to Wyly Brown for the opportunities he has provided me over the years,” Strayer conveys. “Not solely due to his extraordinary design skills and mentorship, but also because of the infectious enthusiasm he brings to each project. You must witness how the construction crew lights up the moment he arrives on-site.”

“It was such a lovely convergence of interests centered around WashU,” Kalev notes. “It felt like destiny.”

“It was such a lovely convergence of interests centered around WashU. It felt like destiny.”

Edya Kalev, AB ’92

The venue also served as an excellent atmosphere for practicing the MELT Method. Kalev discovered the gentle, restorative technique over 20 years ago during her inaugural class, feeling pain-free after grappling with a debilitating hamstring injury for months. Already a trained yoga instructor, she shifted her focus to MELT.

“It’s convenient and simple to perform,” Kalev explains. “It’s immensely satisfying. I have students who tell me they feel better now than they did a decade ago, or even two decades ago, because they can incorporate a bit of MELT into their daily routines.”

When instructing, Kalev often reflects back on her studies in art history. She dedicates a significant portion of her time to visualizing specific movements or body parts, then articulating that visualization, she states. Observing and analyzing artwork has turned out to be an effective, albeit unanticipated, foundation for her career.

MELT techniques also complement Fleming’s focus in Orthopedic Yoga Therapy. Fleming invited Kalev to co-facilitate the retreat; they first connected many years ago when Fleming instructed Kalev’s initial yoga class. Nowadays, both of their specialized fields emphasize the relationships between the body’s fascial tissues and nervous system, along with the idea of being grounded. The duo plans to collaborate again for another women’s retreat and a Fascia Camp in February 2026.

“When I teach, I’m always urging people to feel anchored and to feel supported,” Fleming remarks. “I believe that’s vital in our lives. The building here offers us incredible opportunities to explore architecture outwardly so we can discover the proper alignment of our own internal structures.”

As Brown makes preparations for another construction project in Nicaragua, he underscores the universal importance of beautiful, sustainably built architecture. He asserts that construction endeavors in the U.S. can and should utilize healthy materials like bamboo while also establishing better connections to the natural environment. A new initiative, the Regenerative Architecture Collective, will concentrate on education and experimentation, merging Indigenous building wisdom with digital tools and cutting-edge construction methods.

“Post-COVID in the U.S., we spend 90% of our lives indoors,” Brown remarks, “and a significant portion of the materials we use for construction is quite toxic for us.

“Our aim is to cultivate healthier environments. Health encompasses individual care, the connections between oneself and community, and one’s relationship with the landscape and planet. And that’s not merely something that occurs in tropical regions. It’s something we can achieve here.”

Brown co-founded a private architecture firm, Leupold Brown Goldbach Architekten, concentrating on sustainable building practices. His portfolio includes a variety of projects, from museums and stadiums to multi-family housing units. After joining WashU’s faculty, his research led him to deeply appreciate bamboo as a building resource.

“You begin to delve deeply into the subject,” Brown explains. “You realize how remarkable this material is — how rapidly it grows, how sturdy it is, how easy it is to harvest, and all these additional benefits like oxygen production and carbon sequestration. So, I kept exploring, and it has become the focal point of my research at WashU.”

This enthusiasm has been passed on to his students, including Strayer. During his internship in February in Nicaragua, he designed architectural enhancements like furniture and terraces. Additionally, he gained insights into the significance of collaboration in the context of sustainable design.

“Our aim is to cultivate healthier environments. … And that’s not merely something that occurs in tropical regions. It’s something we can achieve here.”

Wyly Brown

“One of my most fulfilling responsibilities was working alongside the construction team — physically collaborating with them using saws, explaining plans, or estimating material costs,” Strayer reflects. “I realized that everyone’s opinion is vital for success: from the owner, to the architect, to the carpenters, to the pool cleaner who turns out to be a brilliant problem-solver and is indispensable to every project (shout out to Juan Lopez). If anything from this experience stays with me forever, it will be them.”

Brown and Fleming’s collaboration extends beyond their architectural endeavors—the couple is set to marry on the bamboo platform in Nicaragua this November. Perhaps amongst the attendees, even more connections to WashU will emerge.

“Our experience truly exemplifies the extensive reach of a WashU education,” Kalev observes regarding the coincidental connections experienced during the February retreat. “Individuals from diverse backgrounds converge in such a remarkable way that we can enhance one another’s strengths.”

Brown agrees. “You might be excelling in your own field, and then you meet someone and discover they attended here or taught here or share another connection with the university,” he states. “Everywhere you find yourself immersed in excellence, you encounter someone from WashU.”

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