Recycled building material used to make rain garden
11:26 PM 4/27/03
Lesley Rogers Barrett County reporter

MIDDLETON - Salvaged factory parts create an eco-friendly and artsy rain garden at a Middleton condominium project.

Rainwater won't rush out of downspouts from the roof of the 19-unit Valencia Lofts at the former Pet Milk building. Instead of quickly carrying pollutants to area lakes and streams, the water will cascade down a 13-foot trellis to a 3-foot high retaining wall that allows water to trickle down three stone-covered trenched steps, to a depressed area with native landscape. Almost all the runoff from the site will soak into the ground.

It's not only one of the largest examples of rain gardens at a commercial site in the area, but one of the more unusual and creative ways to slow rainwater from entering the storm sewer system, said Sue Ellingson of Madison Wild Ones, a natural landscape club.

"Lots of people lately are interested in rain gardens and are putting them in," Ellingson said. "This one is really neat."

The concept was created by two UW-Madison professors. They received a roughly $17,000 UW graduate school grant to design and help build the rain garden at the Alexander Company's Valencia Lofts, 7777 Elmwood Ave., near downtown Middleton.

Janet Silbernagel, assistant professor of landscape architecture and Gail Simpson, assistant professor of art, will present their design Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Sequoya Library, 513 S. Midvale.

Sponsored by Wild Ones, attendees will learn what kinds of plants to use for shady and sunny rain gardens, as well as how to use art in landscaping.

Anyone can build a rain garden, said Silbernagel.

Rain gardens are low-lying areas with native flowers, wetland species and other vegetation with deep roots that soak up rainwater runoff from roofs, parking lots and driveways.

When rainwater travels over hard surfaces, it picks up pollutants, which are carried to storm drains and then area lakes and rivers. Rain gardening helps stop some of those pollutants from entering storm drains.

"It doesn't have to be a complex thing," Silbernagel said.

Silbernagel and Simpson's design celebrates the factory feel of the 25,000-square foot building, which was built in 1914 and originally housed the Pet Milk factory, and later Middleton Motors.

Called "broken hardscape," the design uses six trusses from the loading area in the former factory. The trusses serve as trellises that help slow down the flow of rainwater or melting snow from the large roof.

"It gives the sense of the older, cultural history of the building," Silbernagel said.

The two women - who met at an on-campus symposium - got the idea for the design when they toured the old building just before it was gutted. They stockpiled several items that would have been taken to the landfill.

Natalie Bock, Alexander Company development project manager, said without Silbernagel and Simpson's design, traditional, standard landscaping would have been used. Instead, their landscaping budget was used to help complete the unique design.

"It really couples the ecological benefit of the rain garden with the ecological benefit of reusing construction materials," Bock said.

So far, 11 of the 19 units are sold. The condos are finished and the landscape, as well as a small adjacent city park, should be finished in June.