The Greenwood School is a boarding school in Putney, Vermont dedicated to teaching young boys with learning differences and disabilities. Our design of a “cottage” addition and upgrades to Founder’s Hall supports and fosters exciting and comfortable interaction within the Greenwood community. This building is healthy and energy efficient incorporating cellulose insulation, high efficiency boilers and natural ventilation purposely created by the stack effect at the tower. Low VOC materials, marmoleum flooring and other materials which contain no urea-formaldehyde contribute to excellent indoor environmental quality.

Located at the heart of the campus, this project connects occupants to the surrounding natural landscape with views from common spaces and living quarters. The project also connects students residing in Founder’s Hall to those in the cottage addition. We have imagined the building’s corridors as “main streets” running through a village. There are points of interest in the common rooms, stair tower, patio, and faculty apartments, we call these “eddies”. They are spaces for casual interaction and play, but also for out-of-classroom learning experiences that encourage maturity in addition to playfulness. The building’s lookout tower/observatory, multiple levels, porches and variety of spaces is intended to encourage the resident’s sense of discovery and fun.

• Well insulated building envelope
• High efficiency boilers
• Natural ventilation
• Low VOC materials
• Water efficient plumbing fixtures
• Energy efficient lighting
• Preservation of mature trees during construction
• Minimal site disturbance