This pastoral building in the heart of the Berkshires celebrates the historic agrarian landscape through a contemporary inn and public park.
With a design refined through community meetings, kaffeeklatsches, and faculty and trustee engagement, the project reinvigorates the existing main street with a 64-room Inn, public park, farm-to-table dining and indoor and outdoor event spaces.
The Inn’s detailing is inspired by New England’s architectural vernacular, with massing that respects context, cherished views of surrounding mountains, and existing ecosystems. Inspiration comes from the New England “connected farm,” distributing 60,000 SF between three articulated forms using local stone and wood cladding and sited to work with wetland conservation requirements. The “Main House” is flanked by a porch overlooking a new town park, a site reclamation opportunity benefitting guests and neighbors. The adjacent “Barn” houses a 50-seat restaurant, meeting rooms, and guestrooms. The “Back House” accommodates additional guest rooms and function rooms. Locally sourced stone wraps the Main House and extends into the landscape to define seating elements in exterior rooms where guests and the public can gather. The rustic, rural charm continues indoors where reclaimed regional wood and local granite infuse the lobby with familiar farmhouse aesthetics, but with elevated elegance. Guest rooms blend rustic and luxe with sliding barn-style doors, heritage-inspired furniture.
This equitable project extends hospitality to Inn guests and the community at large. Youth sports teams, service organizations, grassroots groups and neighbors all use the social spaces, park, terraces and connecting pathways as an informal community center.
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