In the spring of 2018 we partnered with Pam Sandler, Architect in Stockbridge, MA, to develop a design proposal for the re-use of a former automobile repair building in Stockbridge for the Berkshire Waldorf High School.  Dana Bixby Architecture prepared the renderings that are now being used for fundraising for the project.

The owner, John Stanmeyer, came to us with a need to add 2nd floor space and convert a portion of the 2nd floor of his gallery and coffee house to an apartment.  An initial design was prepared and we assisted him in obtaining a zoning special permit that will allow him to do this. We prepared 3D computer modeling of the design to assist us in making a presentation to the ZBA for the permit.

The clients, who have had a house on Steven’s lake for 30+ years,  acquired additional property several years ago.  They decided to tear down the existing dilapidated cottage on the new land and rebuild. The design process started with their vision of a small cottage on the edge of the meadow. As the design took shape it became clear that at the core was a sense of  the cottage being “whimsical, like something that you just happen on in a clearing in the woods with odd angles and peaks and unusual window detail.”  Construction is now underway and the cottage is expected to be completed early 2020.

Click here to read about the renovation of the main house

Several years ago, we provided pro-bono services to the Spacial Dervish Society of America for the design of a Dancemeditation retreat center on a mesa near Las Vegas, NM

I am doing exploratory work for Spacial Dynamics, LLC in Mechanicville, NY (1/2 hr north of Albany, NY). Spacial Dynamics is a movement education organization. www.spacialdynamics.com/

Spacial Dynamics owns a 1914 school building with a beautiful gym that they acquired ten tears ago. They use the gym portion as the home/headquarters for their work (which is international in scope.) There is a 1925 addition and a 1951 addition. The facility has 450′ of frontage on the Hudson river, immediate proximity to a town public boat dock, and is next door to a renovated church, aka Arts Center on the Hudson, that Jaimen acquired and renovated 3-4 years ago.
www.artscenteronthehudson.com/

Over the years Spacial Dynamics has entertained a variety of proposals from developers to acquire and develop of the school portion of the building, but with no success. Recently they had some interest from a senior housing developer that has motivated the current activity.

With the aim of fully engaging with a senior housing developer, we are assembling a package comprising conceptual design, code analysis, cost estimates, marketing analysis, and financing possibilities.

The Topia Arts Center is a multidisciplinary performance space between Park Street and the Ashiwilticock Rail trail in Adams, MA. This is an adaptive re-use of a 1937 Art Deco movie theater, and is also a LEED registered project. Prior to the construction of the movie theater there had been an opera house on this site. The Topia complex includes the Arts Center, the Topia Inn, and the Stone Soup Café.

Working from a theater concept developed by Robert Long of Theater Consultants Collaborative, the design incorporates flexible and fixed seating for a maximum capacity of 500 persons. There will be an addition with toilet rooms, dance studios, and dressing rooms and a green room. One of the dance studios will incorporate “motion capture technology.”

In November of 2008 Dana Bixby Architecture completed the schematic design phase and cost estimate for the project. The Arts Center is raising money for the full renovation. An initial phase of work is beginning in May 2009. The restoration of the Café space is complete, with a facade design that was completed by Dana Bixby Architecture in 2009.

A 3d video animation of the design is available at: