This new single-family residence includes an artist studio and pool and is situated within a south-facing hill in Dutchess County, New York. The house is surrounded by lush, forested hills and woodlands creating the opportunity for distinct moments that blend landscape with human habitation.

At the core of this project is a commitment to stewardship of the natural environment, with materials and building systems chosen thoughtfully to meet rigorous sustainability goals. The home includes photovoltaic panels for energy generation and a geothermal heating and cooling system that utilizes the stable temperature of the earth’s subsurface to exchange heat. Primary interior finishes include locally sourced wood for both structure and finishes; concrete, stone, and wood floors; and metal kitchen cabinets. Tiered stone walls step up the hill from the pool to the home, and exposed, board-formed concrete retaining walls extend from the landscape to the interior, integrating the unique terrain and topography of the site with interior spaces.

Following the development of a strategic plan for Urban Dove to expand across all NYC boroughs, Marble Fairbanks designed a team charter school in Brooklyn as a renovation to an existing building. Unique to Urban Dove schools, each student is part of a team with their own coach who offers extra curriculum support and sports and fitness instruction. A gymnasium, training rooms, and extra fitness spaces complement traditional classroom learning, and access to outdoor fields is an important criterion for building sites. Various scenarios were developed within the strategic plan including for the school to be part of a new development project, to be the sole tenant in an existing building, or to be a tenant within a larger renovation project.

As part of our long-standing relationship with Urban Dove, we’ve worked on other design projects including the development of a graphic identity for the school that can be easily replicated in new spaces as Urban Dove expands. The recent renovation for their Brooklyn-based school included repurposing an auditorium into a gymnasium, incorporating the custom graphic identity which has been strategically applied in their Bronx school. The Urban Dove model has proved to be highly successful, and we continue to advise as they expand their services.

The Master Plan for Middlebury College Library envisions future projects and establishes prioritized and phased options for realizing these changes within the Davis Family Library and Armstrong Science Library, the two main libraries on Middlebury College’s campus. With the goal of aligning the library’s master plan goals with Middlebury’s strategic plan, we looked at Middlebury’s libraries as a network of related resources throughout campus.

The planning process included a series of focus groups, drop-in sessions, surveys, and campus-wide presentations to understand the current needs and future goals of each of the libraries and to establish a clear framework and shared principles for guiding the work. The master plan provides alternate future paths and multiple conceptual design options for more collaborative study space, expanded knowledge production spaces, and experimental studio and rich media spaces that support emergent pedagogy. These future paths align the libraries with Middlebury’s strategic framework, while also addressing library services, staff spaces, special collections, and stacks. The goal is for the master plan to be a living document, providing phased options for immediate, near-term, and long-term implementation for the libraries to redirect, reconfigure, and reallocate space as the institutional needs evolve.

Assisting thousands of families and low-income individuals every year, the not-for-profit institution seeks to expand their services requiring higher-capacity learning environments as well as extra workspace for additional programs and organizations to join their cause.

Following a feasibility study of the adjacent site, this project developed a 7,000sf addition with internal connections to the existing building. To integrate the new three-story building and old structure, the addition’s façade extends above and over an existing stairwell interlocking the two volumes. The primarily brick façade is continued, in a darker, subtler color, preserving a uniform texture and grid while distinguishing the secondary structure.

Working with POTS through in-person interviews and on-site observations, a program was established that addresses the needs of the growing organization and their commitment to expanding their programming. This includes a new classroom space and offices on the first floor and a combination of open workspaces and private offices (as well as a divisible meeting room) on the second and third floors.

The transformation of this building from a space for community (YMCA) to a space of isolation (Bayview Correctional Facility) back to one of community, collective growth, and partnership (The Women’s Building) is a powerful story about a change in ethics and a vision for equity, support and justice. The history of the building informs our design both inside and out.

There are three unique centers for change in our design—a Center for Community, Center for Wellness, and Center for Activism. Each forms a nexus of activities around their particular focus, and together they shape a vertical neighborhood where partnerships can be forged, collaborations explored, and resources shared. Each center establishes an entirely new paradigm for growth and support while linking the interior spaces to this unique site in the city. The façade of the addition is terracotta, formed through advanced digital technologies that embrace the future, while connecting, through its material, to the history of the existing building and its rich architectural detailing. The Women’s Building completely transforms a structure with a history of incarceration and isolation into one of connections and shared goals.