This impressive 2-story hearth was designed and built for Burr and Burton Academy, an independent high school that serves the public in southern Vermont. Bensonwood architect Randall Walter, AIA, LEED AP, designed the environmentally conscious building as a living classroom, blending scientific architecture with artistic abstraction.

In addition to serving as a teacher for Burr and Burton Academy students, the design goal was to achieve LEED Platinum, Net-Zero Energy status. Energy efficient features of the building include triple-glazed windows and doors, dense-packed cellulose insulation in the walls and roof, recycled and reused materials, sustainable locally-sourced woods and materials, natural slate tile and marble, and low or no VOC finishes. The Burr and Burton Academy Mountain Campus was designed and manufactured at the Bensonwood manufacturing facility and then assembled on-site in days.