1st Place, Addition
The Aliki Perroti & Seth Frank Lyceum brings together the Center for Humanistic Inquiry, History department, and other faculty members selected to drive discourse and critical thinking at Amherst College, Amherst, Mass. Inspired by the Lyceum of ancient Athens, spaces are arranged in a way that encourages interaction, collaboration and conversation for faculty, students and the greater college community.
The 21,340-square-foot project incorporates a historic house on the site with new construction. The house, constructed in the Greek Revival style for the mother of the ?college’s president, is refreshed on the exterior and transformed on the interior to support its new program, consisting of offices, classrooms and support spaces. A new, 2-story addition is placed next to the existing house along Pleasant Street, separated by a transparent exterior wall. These two elements contain the larger, more public spaces, including seminar rooms, an event space and a flexible classroom.
The Aliki Perroti & Seth Frank Lyceum brings together the Center for Humanistic Inquiry, History department, and other faculty members selected to drive discourse and critical thinking at Amherst College, Amherst, Mass. 
The site’s historic home is connected to the new construction with a transparent exterior wall. 
The site’s historic home is connected to the new construction with a transparent exterior wall. The all-electric building features a photovoltaic array that is predicted to generate 44.07 MWh. 
Flexible classroom spaces provide sweeping views of campus. 
The historic house remains visible within the new facility. 
The existing historic house was constructed in the Greek Revival style for the college president’s mother. PHOTO: Bruner/Cott Architects 
Interior before PHOTO: Bruner/Cott Architects 
Floor plan DRAWING: Bruner/Cott Architects 
Site plan DRAWING: Bruner/Cott Architects
PHOTOS: Robert Benson Photography unless otherwise noted
A new 3-story office wing wraps behind the existing house and creates a linear band of offices looking west. The design leverages the adjacencies of offices, classrooms, a ground-floor event space and an outdoor terrace all connected by an open commons. This central space establishes places for the community to share thoughts, ideas and work.
At the onset of the project, Bruner/Cott Architects worked with the client to study the feasibility of transforming the site’s historic home into a dynamic academic facility for the college’s Center for Humanistic Inquiry. Through a series of design meetings and analysis, the team created a framework to guide site evaluation, programming, conceptual design and sustainability considerations. A significant component of the study involved examining the district surrounding the site to create circulation and access that could enable future opportunities for development.
The Aliki Perroti & Seth Frank Lyceum is a “smartly sustainable” building, designed to support the college’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2030 with ultra-low targets for operational and embodied carbon.
Key sustainability metrics include:
- All-electric building.
- R-35 walls, R-50 roof (R-65 at existing roof).
- Triple-glazed windows with exterior shading at south and west.
- EUI (modeled at CD): 24.5 kbtu/ft2.
- EUI (modeled at CD with PV generation): 14.3 kbtu/ft2.
- PV array (predicted generation): 44.07 MWh.
- Embodied Carbon (modeled at CD): Meets EC requirements of ILFI Net Zero Carbon.
- 69kg eq CO2 (biogenic)
- 198kg eq CO2 (excluding biogenic)
- FSC wood for CLT, timber, exterior cladding, millwork, flooring.
- Daylight/views operable windows for 90 percent regularly occupied spaces.
- Low-VOC products for all division 09, meets VOC targets for LEED v4.
- Mechanical System: VRV with Energy Recovery Ventilation.
Although the addition is far larger than the original home, it has sensitively avoided overpowering it through the use of restrained articulation, coordinated roof heights and selection of materials. The commitment to sustainability through preservation and energy efficiency are commendable.
Kenneth DeMuth, AIA, partner, Pappageorge Haymes Partners
Retrofit Team
Architect: Bruner/Cott Architects
Owner: Amherst College
Construction Manager: DOC
Structural Engineer: Foley Buhl Roberts & Associates Inc.
MEP/FP Engineer: Buro Happold
Civil Engineer: Berkshire Design Group
Landscape Architect: STIMSON
Carbon Consultant: New Frameworks Natural Design Build LLC
Envelope Consultant: Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc.
Lighting Design: Lam Partners
Acoustics: Acentech
Materials
Rigid Wall Sheet Protection: inpro
Doors: VT Industries
Fire-rated Glass Wall: Pilkington Pyrostop and Fireframes TimberLine Series
Tackable Wall: Forbo
Whiteboard: Steelcase
Wood Ceiling: 9Wood
Acoustical Ceilings: Armstrong World Industries
Quartz: Corian Quartz
Asphalt Shingles: CertainTeed
TPO Roofing: Carlisle Syntec Systems
Metal Wall Panels: Belvedere from ATAS International Inc.
Glass: Viracon
Windows: Ultimate from Marvin
Skylights: EcoSky CED3 from Velux
Window Shades: Mecho
Floor and Wall Tile: Nemo Tile + Stone
PV Array: Qcells
Mechanical System: Daikin
