Brava

January 2013

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Photo by Sarah Maughan work With Me Kate Stalker When personal passion finds a global cause It���s invisible to most, but Kate Stalker can see it. A landscape architect, Stalker has made a career out of envisioning new structures where nothing once stood. And her latest project to come to life isn���t just a pinnacle for her career; it might even be one for the planet. It���s the innovative Resilience Research Center, which blends state-of-the-art building technology with a global cause of increased sustainability���a mission that is close to Stalker���s heart. ���This is like one small little glimmer of hope in the huge fight to preserve the planet,��� says Stalker, project manager for the Center. ���That���s why I think this place is so important.��� Under the umbrella of the Center for Resilient Cities, the part community center, part chartered Badger Rock Middle School and part urban agriculture hub opened this fall and has become a nationwide sustainability model in both its design and goals. Boasting a garden, greenhouse and green energy The Center���s Eco-friendly Approach plant, the Center aims to bring susIt���s true, one person���s tainability focused education and trash can be another���s interior positive change to an often underdesign! Nearly all of the furniture served neighborhood. and furnishings inside Resilience Bestowed with the monumental Research Center���including tables, task of designing and constructchairs and ceiling tiles���are ing the new building was Stalker, reused items, and many were whose background ranges from saved en route to local land���lls. ski resort design to public housing development. At the Center, Stalker���s role reaches far beyond that of architect: You can see by the way passersby fondly greet Stalker in the halls that she���s become a popular presence. She���s even taught a few classes at the middle school. But for the community, the ultimate teaching tool is the Center itself, where construction continues and the building is slated for completion by 2014. Though, she admits, one project can only do so much to better the planet, Stalker hopes the sustainability practices learned will spread far beyond the Center���s southside home. ���When you build a facility like this, which educates people about the things you hold dear, you have a much greater impact,���says Stalker. ���Kelsey Bewick January 2013 bravamagazine.com 27

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