Dubbed a hero, Allen looks to take farming to the skies
Benny Sieu
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/92477004.html
Milwaukee urban farmer Will Allen is listed on Time Magazine's annual "Time 100: The World's Most Influential People" list.
This drawing by Kubala Washatko Architects Inc. shows a a five-story farm that Growing Power is considering building at its existing 2-acre property on W. Silver Spring Drive. Led by Will Allen, the nonprofit is close to launching a $7 million to $10 million fund-raising campaign for the project.
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After all, Allen is a world hero, according to an issue of Time magazine that hits newsstands Friday. He's among 100 individuals and small groups picked by Time editors for the annual "Time 100: The World's Most Influential People," which honors ideas, innovations and actions that are "shaping our world."
Allen already has been dubbed a genius by the John D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation, which awarded him a $500,000 "genius grant" in 2008.
Now all Allen and Growing Power's board of directors must do is find $7 million to $10 million to build the farm that Allen has been envisioning for nearly two decades to take his nonprofit enterprise to the next level.
Backers say the futuristic urban farm designed to intensively produce vegetables and fish could become an icon for Milwaukee, and a model for cities around the world to grow affordable, healthful food close to consumers. It also could create a whole new industry with thousands of jobs for urban farmers and those who design and build city farms around the world, Allen said Thursday.
"It's something a bit counterintuitive with the economy going south, but we've come to the conclusion that Growing Power is going north," Jerry Kaufman, board president for Growing Power and a professor emeritus of urban planning, said Thursday. "There aren't too many Will Allens around, and so far we haven't developed the science to clone him.
"I see the decade of 2010 as potentially explosive for what Will calls, 'The Good Food Revolution.' "
The vertical farm - dramatic in shape and with an expansive, sloped glass front to absorb natural light - would be built at Growing Power's existing 2-acre farm at 5500 W. Silver Spring Drive through local and federal donations and grants. A half-dozen existing greenhouses would be preserved as historic structures.
It would have 23,000 square feet for classrooms, a demonstration kitchen, offices, staff locker room, retail store, food processing, loading dock and freezers. An additional 15,000 square feet of sloped area, facing Silver Spring Drive, would be devoted to growing vegetables and fish. Fish tanks for perch and tilapia would be trenched into the ground. The building would have a rooftop solar panel, would capture rainwater to be recycled for watering plants, and would transfer heat from the building top to a thermal mass underneath to store for future use.
'First of its kind'
The vertical farm is conceptualized in drawings by Kubala Washatko Architects Inc. in Cedarburg, whose designs have included the Urban Ecology Center, the Iron Horse Hotel and the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center near Baraboo - buildings known for their strong connections to neighborhoods and use of natural light and building materials."This would be the first of its kind in the world that we know of," said architect Allen Washatko, co-founder of the Cedarburg architectural firm. "This concept is intended for areas where land availability is scarce and where 'going up' to create agricultural space would be in demand."
It's time to stop dreaming and start building, Allen said.
"Somebody's gotta build the first one," he said. "We've taken a leading role in urban agriculture, and we've pioneered a lot of firsts, so why shouldn't we be the ones to do it?"
Allen, 61, for years has been calling attention to the widespread existence of "food deserts" in cities across America, where whole communities lack access to fresh, nutritious, affordable food, and underserved populations have high rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
He keeps a hectic schedule - which will slow down in two weeks when he has knee replacement surgery. He speaks at workshops and universities around the world. Growing Power's board members heartily applaud Allen but privately worry that he will be in even greater demand as he continues to gain a higher international profile.
