Nestled between New York City and Philadelphia, Solebury School’s idyllic 140-acre campus is complete with meadows, woodlands, and a stream. The school has a total enrollment of 260 students and is called home by 100 boarding students as well as faculty residents. The first phase of a larger commitment to sustainable campus growth, the school’s vision was to create a new residence hall to serve as a “home for many”, while shaping spaces for students to engage beyond the classroom.
From early planning stages, the design of Hope Hall was meant to reinforce the school’s dedication to environmental stewardship. The first dormitory in the United States to receive full Phius certification, Hope Hall set a new standard of building performance for all future construction projects on campus.
The campus and its natural beauty provide a unique and exceptional setting for the Solebury community to live, learn, and play. Inspiration for Hope Hall’s design was taken from the surrounding rural Pennsylvania landscape. The exterior is based on a simple barn typology to align with passive design conventions and resonate with the surrounding campus context. In the evenings, the building appears to disappear into the landscape while large windows act as a warm invitation to students returning home on cold winter evenings and further connect the space to the landscape.
Designing and building to passive house standards was appealing to the school for energy efficiency and prioritizing resident comfort, while simultaneously teaching students to be good stewards of the environment. Extensive energy savings are achieved through design moves such as smart massing and strategic window to wall ratios, continuous insulation, eliminating thermal bridges, ensuring an airtight envelope, using triple pane glazing, and installing high performance heating and cooling systems as well as continuous ventilation with energy recovery.
Sustainable materials and construction choices contributed to energy efficiency through the use of foam glass aggregate, cellulose insulation, and shop fabricated wall panels. The adjacent parking lot also features EV charging stations. It’s estimated that Hope Hall will use 84% less energy than typical residence halls in the region.
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