Our recent renovation and addition project to The University of Vermont's Recital hall has been awarded the 2021 Excellence in Construction Award from the New Hampshire Associated Builders and Contractors.

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A Scott + Partners designed renovation of the Essex Junction multi-modal station is in the works as Amtrack restarts its "Vermonter" line. The proposed project will build an open-truss roof over the existing 1958 station to provide a lively, safe, and weather protected arrival and departure area for train and bus passengers at the "busiest train station in Vermont". Our former office location was right next to the station, so we have roots there and are happy to be a part of the Village's work to revamp the station.

The Darling Inn Apartments project took an existing historic building in Lyndonville, Vermont and renovated it, giving it an energy-efficient makeover. We paid special attention to sealing and insulating the building shell, while maintaining the historic look and feel. Existing insulation in the attic, slopes and knee walls was removed and replaced with significantly tighter insulation and air seals. The existing heating system (an oil boiler with electric resistance storage heaters) was removed and replaced with a new wood pellet boiler with hydronic distribution and indirect DHW. Additionally, a whole building energy recovery ventilation system was installed. This allows proper ventilation of the entire building without adding significantly to the heating load, since exhaust air is recovered and used to preheat incoming fresh air. The energy savings with this system is notable.

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The Downstreet Apartments project located in Barre, VT is a 33,970sf mixed-use building on an urban renewal site. The project site contained three buildings in poor condition. After some review it was determined that the most cost effective approach would be to replace the buildings with a new energy efficient, mixed-use building.

Jury comments on the project were as follows:

• The jury discussed in detail the difficulty of creating good affordable housing projects and wanted to recognize the difficulty and the importance of achieving good design at lower costs. The Downstreet project achieves this.
• Design is part of the solution to the problems of the world: Houses are not inherently green by definition. Community buildings in town on non-glamorous sites with a low budget like Downstreet, are good and a part of the solution.
• This is an admirable project which paid careful attention to context
• This is a very aesthetically pleasing project, and delivered a lot of quality given the limits of budget
• It is a great achievement. Architects in Vermont are taking on the challenge of affordable housing and succeeding at creating pleasant looking buildings given the budget constraints

We believe that a careful relocation and management of automobile traffic patterns and parking in Montpelier can enhance the vibrancy and improve livability of this unique city. Our concept breaks down the larger, more complex sustainable vision into smaller, easily managed neighborhoods that can be developed incrementally over time.

Thoughtful design can improve quality of life. Our Design engages the community, supports local businesses, encourages growth in local agriculture & the Arts, and provides opportunities for personal growth, public interaction, and active contemplation. An engaged, active citizenry is essential for a viable democracy and a successful Net zero future. The following is a summary of the major areas of focus in our design:

Accessibility, Connections and Natural Features :

• We engage the river through the development of public walkways and terraced access areas that allow direct contact with the river for wading and/or boat access. Walkways are designed to allow multiple connections and access points throughout.
• We replace paved areas in the central downtown area with green spaces including parks, parklets, sculpture gardens, wildflower and bee gardens. Walkways are designed to be universally accessible to the fullest extent.
• We will revitalize the river banks and edges to create vegetative buffers that contain flooding and reduce excess storm water overflow events.

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