The Ecology School, by Kaplan Thompson Architects, Briburn, and Simons Architects
The Ecology School at River Bend Farm in Saco, Maine, represents what you might call anti-architecture. Comprising nearly 15,300 square feet of living, eating, and educational-support spaces, the project is, from an energy standpoint, virtually invisible—its embodied and operational carbon are offset by the energy it creates.
The new Ecology School works the way it does for a reason: the shared notion between client and designers that the architecture should be in service to the school’s larger goal of teaching ecological stewardship. That, at least, was the design brief issued by the facility’s CEO and president, Drew Dumsch, who has overseen the nonprofit since its founding in 1998. Over time, the program has grown from operating seasonally out of a rented summer camp to running year-round on a 105-acre tract of pristine land about 7 miles northwest of downtown.
Three Portland firms interviewed for the job—Kaplan Thompson Architects, Simons Architects, and Briburn—and all three got it, owing to the client’s wish to make the project stronger through a diversity of design approaches. Ultimately, Kaplan Thompson took the lead on the overall project, Simons Architects designed the 6,380-square-foot dining commons, and Briburn designed the 8,893-square-foot dormitory. Although the teams claim credit for their individual contributions, they are resolute about their collaboration throughout the project.
“We compete on work as firms—and we are all within walking distance from each other—but we put that aside to fulfill this project,” says Jesse Thompson, AIA, founding principal of Kaplan Thompson. “There is a tradition in New England in the common good being regarded as greater than the individual, and there’s also a strong community work ethic at the school we tried to honor, too.”
Working with the Saco-based landscape architecture firm Richardson & Associates, the firms began with a charrette, probing how to interpret traditional campus models, balance the school’s programmatic needs, and intervene as little as possible within the landscape itself. The firms also surveyed the local ecology in detail, walking the site with noted ecologist Tom Wessels and deciding to pin their campus plan to a line of maple trees.
The resulting scheme, which spans just over 8 acres, is just as thoughtful. To the east lies the school’s edible landscape, a field bearing produce that feeds students and staff. The new dormitory, meanwhile, marches up a small hill to the west. By creating three modestly scaled residential buildings in the form of barns, inspired by local vernacular and united by open-air walkways, Briburn was able to make thousands of square feet seem like it had always been there. The buildings also provide flexibility to the school, which hosts eight different program types, from day-long STEM field trips to week-long intensive camps to professional development workshops for teachers.
“The school wanted the architecture to be recessive to the land because they wanted buildings for kids who aren’t supposed to be in buildings. They are supposed to be out in the land learning,” says Christopher Briley, AIA, founding partner and principal architect at Briburn. “So, before we knew what our roles were, we really tried to get the first part right.”
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