The Biomass Building is a new 4,800 square foot addition to the existing maintenance building at Bennington College that houses a new biomass heating system. This new biomass boiler replaces the existing fossil fuel system. The biomass boiler supplies the majority of campus with heat sourced from the burning of local wood chips drastically reducing Bennington College’s overall carbon output. It is estimated that the new system will pay for itself in less than seven years.
The addition consists of several key components; a large room to house the new wood chip boiler, a loading dock and fuel storage area, as well as an outdoor courtyard located on the roof of the fuel storage area. The outdoor courtyard provides an opportunity to reconnect the existing building to the rest of the college campus by extending the landscape onto a portion of the building. The courtyard consists of two levels, a lower patio level that will serve as the main entrance to the facility as well as an outdoor area for the staff to relax. The upper level of the courtyard is planted with native vegetation (to control rainwater runoff), and three shade trees. In the summer months, the courtyard shade trees will reduce solar heat gain and the operational windows will provide fresh air, as well as natural light. In the winter, the building will be heated from waste heat generated by the biomass boiler. Other energy saving features include high efficiency lighting and a thoroughly insulated building envelope.
