Board Meeting - 11 a.m.
Luncheon - Noon
"Soup, Chili and Bread"
Head Hostess: Kathy Williams
Business Meeting 1 p.m.
Program: "Beaver Lodge - LEED House
with Marie Stella
Marie Stella, MA,MS, is a landscape historian and designer with
certificates from Radcliffe College & Harvard University will speak to us
about this house she built and also about rain gardens and rain water
harvesting. Her design firm specializes in environmental landscapes.
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Beaver Lodge
Environmental Learning Center
Illustrating the integration of art, technology and
environment
Frustrated by a year-long intensive search for the ‘right
house’, it finally became apparent to me that if I wanted to
pursue a green agenda, I would have to construct my own
environmentally engineered home. I was intrigued by the
challenge of striving for LEED Platinum. As a Landscape
Historian and Designer, The Renaissance ideal of the
harmony of art and technology influenced me, and drives
the design of systems for my teaching and landscape
laboratory, “Beaver Lodge.” Surrounded by acres of forest
protected by conservation restrictions, the house
overlooks a large pond thriving with wildlife.
My holistic approach addresses environmental
responsibility, sustainability and attractiveness. I give a
great deal of thought to the aesthetics of each situation I
encounter, balancing the function of innovative, emerging
technology with minimal negative impact on the ecology of
the site.
I believe “Beaver Lodge” reflects its local context and
provides constant intimate contact with natural systems.
Shifting views inside and outside are linked with arbors,
patio and deck in a transparent house that is one room
wide and sited for passive solar orientation and
maximized daylighting. The healthy, stress-less
atmosphere provides both relaxation and engagement.
We can follow Thoreau’s advice to build our own home, as
a bird builds its nest:
If you build castles in the air, your work need not be lost;
that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under
them.
—Walden
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