Day 2 of our residency in Calgary we visited Ralph Klein Park, which will be our home base for phase 2 and 3 of this residency. The structure was a massive investment in the environmental future of Calgary and showcases some pretty incredible building techniques.
The main hall inside RKP is an interactive exhibition that highlights information on Calgary’s watershed.
The Bow River is the largest river flowing through Calgary.
We All Live Downstream From Someone Else.
Tristan uses the interactive iPad that shows information as you point to certain spots through the park.
Graph.
Info.
The exhibition hall.
The schedule for all the workshops, tours and classroom lessons happening every month.
Interactive lights.
Each rock along this wall was hand washed. This building holds over 5 million of them.
One of the classrooms where grade school and high school students come to learn and interact with the things they find in the ponds.
The species in this tank were directly extracted from the water outside.
Hadi used a camera to magnify the tank so it can be seen on a larger screen.
Algae growing strong outside.
This dragonfly didn’t want to leave.
This storage room will soon be transformed into a wood shop that we can use if we choose to build something larger than our studio.
Walking around the building.
Ralph Klein Park from the other side.
Hadi and Josh look for fish and frogs.
Walking through the lower deck.
Home of a cliff swallow. They repetitively spit mud until their home is complete!
Hadi mentions to us that when the water rises, this whole lower level gets flooded.
Sentinels is a land art sculpture by artist Beverly Pepper and can be seen from almost every point of RKP.
There are 5 different cells of water at RKP. Each body of water meanders in a snake-like pattern until it reaches the next cell. The building itself stands on cell 5.
The top floor of the building is where the artist studio can be found.
Studio.
Artist In Residence Studio.
Nick and Minty are currently the occupants of this space.
Talking with Nick and Minty was great. We discussed their residency, the work they’ve bee doing and how they’ve liked working at RKP. They’ve come all the way from Glasgow, Scotland.
The studio. So much great natural light and open space.
Their library.
Chatting.
Some of their earlier notes!
Today, we’re heading about 3 hours out of Calgary to visit the Bow Glacier. It’s the starting point for Calgary’s water source and the beginning for this particular watershed.
More soon.
Who is Hadi?
He is an environmental education specialist at Ralph Klein. Nice guy!