Bennington College Deane Carriage Barn

• Location, Client, & Date

  Bennington, VT

  Bennington College

  September 2007

• Program & Primary Materials

  • Music performance and practice space accessibility and system upgrades

  • Addition and renovation totaling 8,400 sf

  • Timber frame, Cedar Siding, and Shingle Roof

• Design

  A Vermont barn from 1890 protected on the State Register of Historic Places, the Deane Carriage Barn is the principal music facility of Bennington College, summer home to the Berkshire Chamber Music Conference, and the site of significant events in modern art and music. Renovations and additions improve access, thermal comfort, and efficiency while preserving architectural and acoustical character. The metal-clad elevator and fire exit addition offers architectural counterpunch to the barn’s weather-vaned onion dome; the new roll-through vestibule defers. Interior renovations renew electrical and mechanical systems, and the attic is renovated for practice, instrument storage, and faculty offices.

• Accessibility

  Access is upgraded with a new roll-through vestibule and a new elevator to all three levels.

• Sustainability

  • Newly-insulated roof underside dramatically improves thermal performance and energy efficiency

  • New thermal-insulating replacement windows reduce energy consumption

  • New vestibule isolates interior from exterior environments, stabilizing interior temperatures while excluding unwanted sound

Deane Carriage Barn Entrance