Putney Village Housing

2007 Putney, VT
45,000 SF, Mixed use: 38 dwellings, commercial, parking garage.
Principal: Michael Wisniewski

The 6.5 acre, village brown field and partial floodplain site slopes steeply down from Rt. 5 creating access and streetscape definition problems. The context is varied: Commercial, industrial and residential, small to large. People like their town just as it is and possible density there is controversial. Extending the village pattern, meeting parking requirements and not letting the car overwhelm the site plan is a challenge. Attaining LEED multi family certification was desired.

We tucked parking garages into the slope , topped them with ground floor commercial and dwellings to define a strong streetscape while hiding most of the parking. The interior becomes a new street with strong pedestrian and public spaces leading to a preserved green space. The building designs are diverse in style and scale and oriented toward the street. We were in the process of exploring green roof, district heating and solar panels when the project was abandoned.