12/13/2022
Centerline Architects attended the 2022 AIA VT Awards Banquet last Friday the 9th at Norwich University. Our project "The Barn" at Bennington College was selected for a Merit Design Award in Historic Preservation, Adaptive Re-use and Rehabilitation.
You can find a video with the jurors comments here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlokrpKqe4w
Thank you to the Andrew Schlatter, Holly Andersen, Erin McKenny, Angel Kwasniak and the countless other Bennington College support staff, Craig Jennings and Russell Construction, AIA VT, the Washington AIA jurors and all the others who helped to make this such a successful project and recognize its potential.
Below is the description of the project that was submitted with the award submission:
In 1932 a tract of farmland was donated to become the home of a new liberal arts college. This forward-thinking institution made it a priority to preserve the existing buildings and pay homage to its historic roots. One of the oldest buildings on campus is “The Barn”. Today it houses classrooms, faculty and administrative offices, and exhibition spaces for student artwork.
After a devastating fire in April of 2019, approximately 10,000 SF of the building was destroyed on the East Wing of the historic building. Due to the extent of the fire damage, new construction of the wing was our only option.
Taking advantage of the unfortunate situation, we collaborated with the college to create and reimagine the design of the new wing and set a new direction for future renovations. Through the years the existing building had materialized into a maze of tiny offices and narrow hallways. Our goal was twofold: first to create an exterior that resembled the original structure but with a controlled randomness of windows rather than what was chaos, second to create an interior of spaces perforated with visual and physical connections that allowed interior and exterior views and interactions. These spaces would act as waiting spaces, study spaces, small group meeting spaces or just a place to go during classes that was comfortable and connected.
The “Parlor” space will act as a landing space for new student admissions and is connected to all three levels with an open floating stair. The gallery space is the other main entrance and is a well-worn, inclement weather shortcut, used by students.
The clear focus behind the design was to establish the Barn as the ‘doorway’ to the campus. Through creating strong visual and circulation axes with the rest of the campus, the building is one that easily transitions from exterior to the interior back to the exterior without missing a beat. The connection to the buildings centralized courtyard was also maximized in this wing by locating the main level circulation to the exterior wall (avoiding a double loaded corridor).
The new design introduced an elevator making the entire building fully accessible for the first time. A full basement was added beneath the wing to provide added space for storage, classrooms and offices.
Some of the sustainable materials for the project include locally sourced maple flooring, salvaged timber framing from the original structure, repurposed hand-made ceramic tile and furniture created from salvaged timber. The iconic cupolas were able to be salvaged, refurbished and utilized to work with the new mechanical systems as intake and exhaust air. We worked with Efficiency Vermont to create a high-performance building envelope and mechanical and lighting systems. A commissioning agent was also hired to focus on the prioritization of energy efficiency and reliability of the new systems implemented.
The new wing has allowed the College to modernize the space for optimal utilization while maintaining and paying homage to the historical past of the buildings form and function.
