COMPLETE 2025

Alburgh, VT

For a decade a small group of residents in a very small town on Lake Champlain and the Canadian border worked to create a local childcare center so families would not need to drive 30 minutes for childcare. Their dedication resulted in a modest building for 44 children with an 18-child afterschool program which can also double as a community meeting room.

The post Covid doubling of costs resulted in some very serious value engineering, especially in terms of landscaping, finishes and MEP systems but the core design remained. The building is on a donated cornfield on Missile Base Rd. at the edge of town. The adjacent farm includes a decommissioned ICBM missile silo. Transforming a Cold War site into a place for growth felt appropriate. The classrooms and outdoor play area face south.

The simple, asymmetrical gabled form reflects the surrounding agrarian landscape.  The deeper than typical south overhang provides shade. A carved out porch and adjacent landscaped apse provide a place for informal, social connection as families and staff come and go. The wood frame structure is designed to passive house envelope standards with energy recover ventilation and cold climate air source heat pumps for heating, cooling and domestic hot water.