A new three-story academic building is being added to the Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, Vermont.
The 25,000-sf expansion, designed by KaTO and ZGF Architects, will comprise interdisciplinary classrooms and the school’s library on BBA’s upper campus. The building is organized around a central commons that will house the school’s library, which has been reimagined as a lively environment that encourages activity and interaction. Spaces for individual work and study will also be included.
The library will be built from CLT and glulam and reflect the surrounding mountainous landscape. Mass timber was selected to help support student health and success as a growing body of research suggests it has psychological health and well-being benefits such as reduced stress and lower blood pressure.
The building will be divided into four distinct learning neighborhoods that support different levels of flexibility and types of activity. A STEAM neighborhood will co-locate a student maker shop with specialty equipment, a computer laboratory, and a learning space. These spaces will be connected by operable garage doors that can be opened to form a greater Maker Commons.
Designed to be net-zero ready, the new facility will include electric-run HVAC sysxtems, an air-to-water heat pump, and the timber structure for the building commons. The expansion will welcome its first students in fall 2021.
Related Stories
Education Facilities | Apr 18, 2019
Ransom Everglades School’s new STEM facility to emphasize flexibility
Perkins+Will is designing the building.
University Buildings | Mar 27, 2019
Veterans Resource Center at Cypress College breaks ground
Sundt Construction is building the project.
Education Facilities | Mar 8, 2019
Nature preserve on the Yangtze River will restore biodiversity to a polluted area
Ennead Architects, in partnership with Andropogon Landscape Architects, is designing the project.
Education Facilities | Feb 25, 2019
Fallingwater Institute’s summer residency programs have a new educational hub
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson designed the project.
Education Facilities | Feb 23, 2019
Construction completed on classroom/dorm combo building on Worcester Polytechnic’s campus
The latest addition embodies the school’s emphasis on collaborative problem-solving.
Education Facilities | Feb 13, 2019
STEM-focused school will cater to students who don’t speak English
Perkins+Will is designing the school.
Libraries | Feb 10, 2019
New library branch in San Diego opens with its community’s learning and working traits in mind
It features larger gathering spaces and more technology than its predecessor.
Green | Jan 28, 2019
This is the country’s greenest academic building
Perkins+Will designed the building.
Education Facilities | Jan 22, 2019
Rethinking classroom design to promote collaboration
A dynamic learning space needs to center around the learner, and be flexible enough to transform into any configuration that will facilitate collaboration, especially as curriculums change.
Education Facilities | Jan 21, 2019
N.J. middle school puts its small site to use
The school is named in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision of the “Beloved Community.”
