Dana Bixby Architecture

Montessori School of the Berkshires

admin — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:21:09 +0000

The Montessori School of the Berkshires was completed in 2010.

Historic Restoration, IS183 art school of the Berkshires-Stockbridge, MA

danabixby — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 02:42:42 +0000

This building, known locally as “Citizen’s Hall,” was built in the nineteenth century and was used by the town as a school and meeting house. It was abandoned in the 1930’s, until a community group took it over. In 1991 IS183 was founded and the community group allowed the building to be used for the art school. Three years ago IS183 acquired ownership of the building and assumed the responsibility to care for, repair, and restore the building.

Dana Bixby Architecture assisted IS183 art school, a non profit organization, in their efforts to obtain grant funding for the restoration of the mansard roof and provided architectural services for the exterior restoration.

The work was a part of a $350,000 capital improvement campaign, and was done with the support of the Massachusetts Historic Preservation Projects Fund. The historic consultant was Greg Farmer of Agricola, Inc. and the builder was Peter Hamm of Historic Preservation Associates.

Re-build of a house on Stockbridge Bowl.

danabixby — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 17:23:17 +0000

The client purchased a small seasonal cottage on Stockbridge Bowl and initially planned to put a foundation under it, drill a well, and do some renovations. As the project progressed they realized that it would be a better strategy to tear down the existing house and rebuild an entirely new house. The lot is very small, and with quite a bit of slope.

Due to the many permitting constraints on Stockbridge Bowl the new house was designed to fit exactly on the footprint of the existing house. By building a partial full basement and raising the house slightly, the new first floor is now on two levels. Though on the same footprint, the new house feels much larger and is more open.

“Rustic House on a Lake” Berkshire County, MA

admin — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 17:23:49 +0000

The owners had an existing cottage on a lake that their family had owned and enjoyed for three generations. To accommodate a family that was growing up and adding grandchildren, they decided to build a new house in a “rustic” style on the adjoining lot they acquired after a fire in the cottage there fifteen years ago.

The lot was challenging in that it was small, very steep, and subject to many local town regulations since it was a waterfront lot. Extensive stonework was incorporated into the site design to handle the steep grades, to develop terraces, and to build a path to the lake.

The interior incorporated antique barn beams from a Dutch barn, recycled antique heart pine stair treads, balusters and handrails handcrafted from maple cut from the site, flooring and other components taken from trees cut from the site, and many other features of hand craftsmanship. The ho The General Contractor was John Cromwell.

Summer house in Stockbridge, MA

admin — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 18:54:52 +0000

The owner purchased a small 1970′s vintage vacation house and requested a new living room, new garage, and new studio addition. The existing bedrooms at the rear of the original house were remodeled. The final design also incorporated a new entrance and a new screen porch. Several years ago the owner commissioned a design for a swimming pool. The design for this pool took some inspiration from the work of Mexican Architect, Luis Barragan.

Photovoltaics at Springfield Technical Community College

admin — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 23:39:22 +0000

[gallery]

The installation of a photovoltaic system was completed by Berkshire Photovoltaics in April of 2006 with the assistance of Dana Bixby, Architect. Dana has worked with Berkshire Photovoltaic Systems of Adams, MA on similar installations at Williams College and University of Massachusetts.

New House – West Stockbridge, MA

admin — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 02:26:37 +0000

Apartment Renovation in Brookline, MA

danabixby — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 22:19:56 +0000

In 1996 the owners purchased a house in Brookline that was divided into three apartments. They occupied the middle floor unit and rented the other two apartments. In 1999 they carried out a complete renovation of the attic level apartment in order to incorporate the space into their living space.

The existing space had the very unique, and wonderful, aspect of having four dormers, one on each side of the roof. There is one point in the new space where you can stand and see out all of the dormers at once. This gives the feeling of moving “in all directions at once,” a prerequisite to balance. Also, since the space has windows on all four sides, one’s awareness of the sun at the different times of the day is acute. Deborah, one of the owners, also likes the new perspective that the renovation gives her of the existing second floor space below. Looking down the new stair she is aware of both the added verticality of the space and of a newly perceived expansiveness of the existing second floor.

Swimming pool in Schuylerville, NY

danabixby — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 03:04:58 +0000

The design for this swimming pool and related landscaping was done for a movement teacher that Dana studied with at the Spacial Dynamics Institute in
Mechanicville, NY. The design embodies aspects of movement theory.

The challenging issue here involved a severe change in elevation of the house and deck in relation to the proposed site for the swimming pool. Dana worked with her teacher to arrive at a height and positioning of the deck that was accessible and convenient to the house yet did not block the views to the woods and stream at the rear of the property. The design included modification of the existing deck with steps that opened up a connection to the pool and deck area. The stepping and curving of the retaining walls served to further emphasize the fluid and dynamic transition in grade.

Renovation on Goose Pond

danabixby — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 02:55:39 +0000

Renovation and addition for a house on Goose Pond in Tyringham, MA

The clients had owned this house for thirty years with a sister and her husband. The other couple had decided to build their own home in Monterey (for which Dana was the project architect when she worked at Clark and Green.) This is a second home and the clients, who live in Brooklyn, wanted more spaciousness and amenity in the house because they planned to use in more throughout the year.

The scope of the project was extensive and included a new entry, stair, kitchen, and first floor master bedroom wing. A new heating system was installed, and the septic system had to be relocated to make room for the addition. An existing spiral stair was removed and the new stair in the entry addition served to reorganize and greatly improve movement in the house.

The builders were Mark Jordan and Mike Caryofiles, who have worked on several projects with Dana.