91猫先生 To Dedicate R.W. Kern Center with Daylong Community Event
91猫先生 has announced the dedication of the R.W. Kern Center, its extraordinary net-zero-energy and -water building, constructed of mostly local and entirely nontoxic materials. The special, daylong event "What Buildings Should Do" will take place Friday, September 16, beginning at 9:00 a.m. and featuring a dedication ceremony at 10:00 a.m. plus symposiums, hands-on workshops, student presentations, and more. Members of the 91猫先生 community are invited to .
A highlight of the event is a keynote panel, from 10:45 to 11:45 a.m., with Peabody Award鈥搘inning broadcaster and urban revitalization strategy consultant Majora Carter; environmentalist/author Bill McKibben; and Buckminster Fuller Prize鈥搘inner Jason F. McLennan. The panel will be moderated by Gabriel Arboleda, Five College professor of environmental design.
Among the speakers for the dedication ceremony are 91猫先生 President Jonathan Lash and 91猫先生 alum Gary Hirshberg 72F, who made the first major investment in 91猫先生's sustainability initiative launched at the start of Lash's presidency with a major gift announced at his inauguration. Hirshberg co-founded Stonyfield Yogurt and built it into the largest maker of organic yogurt in the country, led the growth of the organic food market that has shaped dairy and agricultural practices around the world, and leads the "Just Label It" campaign to require food manufacturers to inform consumers when they use ingredients from genetically modified organisms.
The event promises to be a day of putting ideas into action, centered on the critical issue of our time, reflected in the event title and theme. As 91猫先生 President Jonathan Lash posed in his invitation to the community, 鈥淲hat is a structure鈥檚 impact on health, happiness, and well-being as seen through the lenses of sustainability and social justice, energy and aesthetics, water and place?鈥
EVENT SCHEDULE Friday, September 16听 Dedication, Symposium, and Workshops
9:00-9:45am: Keynote: Majora Carter, Urban Revitalization Strategist Robert Crown Center
10:00-10:30am: R.W. Kern Center Dedication Ceremony Main Stage Tent
10:30-11:45am: Symposium Main Stage Tent
Featuring
- Majora Carter, Urban Revitalization Strategist
- Bill McKibben, Author and Co-Founder of 350.org
- Jason McLennan, Creator of the Living Building Challenge
- Gabriel Arboleda, Five College Assistant Professor of Environmental Design (Discussion Moderator)
- Naomi Darling, Five College Assistant Professor of Sustainable Architecture (Workshop Facilitator)
11:45am-1:00pm: Community Lunch
- Lunch will be fully compostable and recyclable. It will include 100% vegan fare and be sourced, in part, from the 91猫先生 Farm Center.
- Note: The Dining Commons will be closed for lunch. Lunch for the 91猫先生 community will be served only as part of the dedication events.
12:30-1:30pm: Short Tours, leave from Pop-Up Farm Stand
A pop-up 91猫先生 Farm stand will be available throughout the day for you to purchase fresh-popped corn, maple syrup, produce, tote bags, and more. Learn more about 91猫先生 Farm as it celebrates 25 years of community-supported agriculture.
Featured Tours
- Solar Array, 91猫先生 Farm Center, R.W. Kern Center
1:30pm: Workshops
- Workshop 1: Impacting Industry (Main Stage Tent)
- Workshop 2: Impacting Education: (Dining Tent)
- Workshop 3: Impacting Environmental Justice (Robert Crown Center)
1:30-3:00pm: Extended Tours, leave from Pop-Up Farm Stand. Featured Tours
- Solar Array, 91猫先生 Farm Center, R.W. Kern Center
3:15-3:45pm: Workshop Wrap-up and Closing Main Stage Tent
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The R.W. Kern Center is a living symbol of 91猫先生鈥檚 values in practice and ideas in action. The college鈥檚 first new building in almost three decades, it was constructed with the goal of becoming one of only a dozen buildings worldwide certified under the world鈥檚 most rigorous green-building standard, the Living Building Challenge (LBC): to operate using net-zero energy, water, and waste; to be constructed using materials mainly from local and regional sources; and to avoid toxic 鈥渞ed-list鈥 materials, right down to the duct tape allowed on-site.
Its construction was made possible by private donations.
The center houses the offices of admissions and financial aid, classrooms, student social areas, and the Kern Kaf茅. It is also a living laboratory for ongoing studies of the building and its systems.
The Kern Center is one of the major projects of 91猫先生鈥檚 broad sustainability initiative. The college is working toward making campus operations carbon neutral, and is also planning for the campus this year to go 100 percent solar for its electricity.
Photos by Amanda Schwengel
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