On April 22, Islesboro students welcomed environmental architect Brian Kent and his wife, Janet, to the island to learn about environmentally responsible design. The Kents arrived at the school for their three-day residency in their Honda hybrid electric/gas automobile, explaining to students that they’ve been living for the past 24 years in what they described as an “independent/ semi-self-sufficient life-style while raising children, animals, traveling and pursuing careers.”
Working in small groups, the Kents covered topics involving community, building design, architectural drawing and energy efficient construction. Younger students designed a to-scale town, placing buildings on a mural. Middle school students drew plans for energy efficient, passive solar buildings. High school students worked in teams to design a horticulture classroom complete with a greenhouse that would operate using photoelectric power. Students also came up with site plans for the school’s orchard-in-progress.
Art teacher Shar Piper reports that “students were so enthused about this experience that they continued working on building designs and creating models from their plans. Students received a good grounding in sustainable design from studying with the Kents and now have a better understanding of what it is that an architect does.”
Brian Kent’s residency was funded, in part, by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, which seeks to bring more music, poetry, painting and other arts activities into the lives of the people of Maine, and by the National Endowment for the Arts.
