Samoset Construction Update

 

The construction at the Samoset Resort is nearing completion and we are anxiously awaiting the grand opening of the new lobby, restaurant, and spa. The Samoset is a 230-acre waterfront resort at the edge of Penobscot Bay on the Maine coast. Truexcullins has designed the interior renovations and exterior additions that will strengthen the connection to the ocean, update and expand the dining and lounge facilities, and introduce new guest amenities. Kim and Keith flew out to the project site recently to check in on the progress. Here are some renderings that show a taste of what's to come:

Bar & Lounge:

A new open stair leads down to the Restaurant and Bar from the hotel lobby above, inviting guests to experience the vibrant activity as soon as they step into the building. The sound of the ocean combines with the pleasant aroma of the restaurant for an engaging sensory experience, all driven by the food as the main ingredient. There are a variety of lounge and sitting areas, including fireside seating, a communal table, and club chairs overlooking the ocean. The exposed wood structure defines the space and frames a series of views.

Restaurant:

When the renovations are complete, The Samoset will debut a brand-new Italian restaurant called La Bella Vita Restaurant. La Bella Vita will feature an authentic antipasto Bar, a wood-fired oven and marketplace for Italian specialty foods. Interior finishes and materials reflect those commonly found in domestic Italian kitchens, such as marble, wood, and iron. Changes have also been made to the space to allow for a more direct view from the dining area to the ocean beyond.

Spa:

The project includes the addition of a full-service seaside spa, a first for the Samoset. This view shows the glass entry and retail space, where guests are greeted by a spa receptionist and invited into one of the five private treatment rooms. A private lounge and patio for spa guests overlooks the golf course and ocean. Materials and furnishings are used that reflect the Maine seaside aesthetic, and the whole spa experience is a celebration of the serenity of the surrounding coastal landscape.

 

To read more about the ongoing improvements to the property, check out the project overview on the Samoset Resort website, or read this Renovation Update, posted last month, to the Samoset News & Events Blog.

Working in Vermont

Posted by Matthew Bushey

Ever wonder what it's like working in an architecture firm in the small, rural state of Vermont?  Like many of my colleagues, I came (or in my case: returned) to Vermont after spending time working in a much different environment. I speak of the cities that form the heart of American architecture: cities that cultivate hundreds of firms that employ thousands of people, developing the urban fabric, expanding the discourse, and pushing American architecture to the next phase in its evolution. Boston, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles: these are the places we think of when we consider where American Architecture is born.

It can be a bit of a culture shock to leave an architecture firm in one of these bustling urban centers to land in our little spot by the Lake. Thinking back to my time in the city, I've often pondered the differences between these urban offices and our typical workday in Vermont.

So here are my Top Five ways working in a Vermont design firm is different from those in New York City (or Boston, or Chicago…)

1. Learning to incorporate the cow into your design scheme.
2. Sharing workspace with the office dogs.
3. We are truly your neighbors: bumping into your client at the grocery store.
4. Fewer ties.
5. A heightened recognition of the natural environment, an appreciation of its influence on our lives, and a sensitivity to the impact our buildings have on our world. Yes, there are people in all the major cities making progress in the area of green design, but in Vermont I've found a greater focus on environmental stewardship. Look out your window and chances are you have a view of the mountains, or the lake, or both. The natural environment defines who we are as Vermonters. It is the basis of our lifestyle, our economy, and our architecture.

Flashback Friday: the Richmond Blood Center

It's another Flashback Friday on the blog as we look back to some of the classic TruexCullins projects of decades past. Today's feature is a Bill Truex project from 1984. Bill designed a number of Red Cross Blood Centers throughout the United States, including those in Burlington Vermont, Hartford Connecticut, and this one in Richmond Virginia:

The Richmond Metropolitan Blood Center provides four basic services: it recruits donors; tests the collected units of blood; processes it into components; and distributes the components to hospitals. In this building, the design addresses the need to control and standardize the service offerings of the Blood Center while providing excellent customer service, in a climate that is usually met with fear and mistrust.

On the exterior, a prevalent steel framework is the dominant feature, providing a clear demarcation of the entry to welcome visitors. A fabric canopy is in place during summer months to control solar heat gain and is removed during winter months.

Long before 'sustainability' became the buzzword it is today, Bill was incorporating green design strategies into his early work. At the Richmond Blood Center, a heat recovery process was used to maximize energy efficiency. Blood processing is a refrigerated process that emits heat. The processed heat is recovered and redistributed back into the heating and cooling systems. The laboratories would become uncomfortably hot if the generated heat was not gathered in ducts for redistribution. Along with being energy efficient, this ensures that thermal comfort in the laboratories is not compromised.

In addition to the colorful mechanical system on the building interior - critical to the operation of the facility - expansive glazing and an open plan layout allows daylight to penetrate all the public spaces within the facility. The northeast and northwest faces of the building were planned to be bermed into the earth to control and insulate against prevailing winds and weather.

Here are some views of the light and color-filled interior:  Click to view full-size.

 

A Love Affair on Lake Champlain

The Crowe Residence in Shelburne was a labor of love for all who were involved.

This light-filled multi-generational home settles comfortably into the landscape, embracing the view  across Lake Champlain.  The project was the winner of the 2009 AIA Vermont Award for Excellence in Architecture.  And now, its story is being shared with readers beyond the borders of Vermont.

We are pleased to note that the Crowe Residence is the feature project in the May/June issue of New England Home magazine, with a beautiful photo gracing the cover and a 10-page spread inside.  You can read the full article online at nehomemag.com/article/instant-karma.  Or, better yet, go out and pick up a copy of the print version of New England Home, available at all major bookstores, convenience stores, grocery stores, drug stores, and corner newsstands near you.

Congratulations go out to the entire project team:  Architecture by Rolf Kielman and Lee Grutchfield; Interior Design by Kim Deetjen and Rebekah Bose; Landscape Design by Keith Wagner Landscape Architect; Contruction by Dan Morris and Ric Santa Maria from Roundtree Constuction;  and photography by Jim Westphalen.

Creating Sustainable Communities

The Vermont AIA is teaming up with the Vermont chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute to present a one-day symposium on the future of the state’s built environment.  “Designed in Vermont: Creating Communities that Flourish in the 21^st Century” is a full-day event that will bring together architects, policy makers, engineers, developers, landscape architects, and allied manufacturers to explore how best to develop sustainable communities in our state.

The day will begin with a keynote presentation by Michael Tavel, AIA, of Michael Tavel Architects in Denver, Colorado.  Tavel is an architect and urban designer specializing in sustainable urban neighborhoods, and his talk, “Sustainable Communities: Paradigms and Paradox,” will be an overview of many of the often competing paradigms of sustainable communities and sustainable land use.  Tavel will present national and international examples that frame the issues facing Vermont within the context of current global practice and discourse on sustainable communities and sustainable land use.

Following the keynote will be 4 additional sessions, each with 2 concurrent workshops exploring various aspects of sustainable building and land use.  One of these will be presented by Rolf Kielman:

Making Good Towns in Norway, Switzerland and Vermont.  Vermont’s varied terrain is similar to that of Norway and Switzerland.  Sloped landscapes; deep, watery cuts in dramatic valleys; and the form of our farmsteads are terrain characteristics that have contributed to the shape of towns and villages in these regions.  This session explores how the land has formed the architecture of buildings and public spaces and how we as architects and planners can advance the art of making good towns.

The full-day symposium takes place at Shelburne Farms, and has been approved for 5.5 AIA learning units.  The fee for the event is $125 for members of AIA-Vermont or CSI-Vermont; $175 for non-members.  More information is available at www.csivermont.org/green.htm, including a full program brochure.  Online registration is open until May 19.

King Arthur Flour in the news

In case you missed it, there was a front page article in today's Burlington Free Press about one of our ongoing Workplace projects, the King Arthur Flour building expansion. You can find the story on the Burlington Free Press website. Here's the full article:

King Arthur Flour to begin expansion in June

Year-long project will bring more space to every aspect of the Norwich-based business

Written by Dan D'Ambrosio, Free Press Staff Writer

 

Vermont's King Arthur Flour Co. plans to break ground in June on an expansion of its facility in Norwich, adding more space to every aspect of its headquarters, including the bakery, retail store, baking school and cafe.

The project, estimated to cost $8 million to $10 million, will be completed in stages and is scheduled to be finished by June 2012.

"We decided a couple of years ago we were at the point of needing more space," Carey Clifford, assistant to president Steve Voigt, said Monday. "During holidays it's very crowded in the store. It's not the shopping experience we wanted for our customers."

Clifford said King Arthur, an employee-owned company with 250 workers, mostly in Vermont, will be adding 12 to 15 employees as a result of the expansion and a consolidation of its headquarters, adding about 4,000 square feet in all.

"Our education classes are selling out; we're starting to turn people away from those," Clifford said. "The bakery has the opportunity for additional wholesale accounts. We have limited seating in the cafe. People are looking for more seating. It's a good problem to have."

Clifford said the project will combine the existing two buildings on the property into one, tearing down the building that currently houses the bakery and baking-education center and combining it with the building that houses the retail store and cafe. By bringing everything together, Clifford said, people who are eating in the expanded cafe will be able to watch the King Arthur bakers through a window, and students in the education classes will be able to walk directly into the store and cafe.

"It has been a dream of ours, long in the making, to create a facility where our visitors can fully experience our passion for baking -- whether through taking a class at our Baking Education Center, watching our artisan bakers in action, enjoying lunch at our cafe, or shopping at our Baker's Store," Karen Colberg, a vice president and general manager at King Arthur Flour, said in a prepared statement. "The next year creating this facility will be a great adventure, and we look forward to sharing the journey with our customers, as we remain open throughout construction."

In addition to doubling the capacity of the cafe, which currently accommodates about 25 people, the project will include an additional classroom in the education center and add another shift in the bakery, Clifford said.

"There will be fresh baguettes in the middle of the day as well as morning," Clifford said.

King Arthur Flour is the oldest flour company in America, founded in 1790, and is the No. 3 flour brand in the country behind Gold Medal and Pillsbury. Clifford said the company had $84 million in sales in 2010.

She said former owners Frank and Brinna Sands brought the company to Norwich from Boston in 1984, and decided in 1996 to sell the company to its employees.

VBSR Spring Conference

Coming up this Thursday, May 12th, TruexCullins will be participating in the VBSR Spring Conference. This is the 21st annual spring gathering for the VBSR: Vermont's non-profit business organization, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.  The topic for this year’s conference is: Building on Our Strengths: What Makes a Great Place to do Business? It is an all-day event with workshops, panel discussions, and exhibits, held at the UVM Davis Center.

One such workshop will be led by Diantha Korzun, AIA, an architect with TruexCullins.  Diantha was the LEED Coordinator for the Heritage Flight Aviation project and is currently the project manager for the King Arthur Flour expansion project.  Diantha will be joined by some of our clients and fellow team members from these 2 projects to discuss how those sustainable design strategies came to be:

Pre-Construction Services: The Path to a Sustainable Construction Project

John Caulo, King Arthur Flour Company
Diantha Korzun, TruexCullins Architecture and Interior Design
Chris Hill, Heritage Aviation
Chris Yandow, Engelberth Construction

The path to a socially responsible construction project can seem challenging at best. Building “green” requires an understanding of building science and the techniques, materials and systems that can deliver a high performance building. It can also require additional upfront costs. Many wonder where they should start, or better yet, how do they decide what sustainable construction features are a good match for their project. In this session, you'll learn how the pre-construction process can be used to explore which environmental options are most appropriate and cost effective for your building program, including the main elements of green building--energy, water, materials and waste. Panelists will share a variety of specific examples from their own sustainable construction practices.

TruexCullins will also have a table at the event, so if you’re a member of VBSR and plan to attend, please stop by and say hello! More information about the conference can be found at VBSR.org.

Not Over Yet

If you love skiing and riding, you know it's been an amazing winter. And while it may feel like a warm, wet spring where you live, the ski season is not quite over yet. Yes, it's true: our friends at Jay Peak are running the lifts again this weekend, May 7^th and 8^th.

It's been quite a year up at Jay, with close to 400 inches of snow for the season. They are also wrapping up a great winter season for the brand-new Tram Haus Lodge. TruexCullins Interiors was pleased to be involved in the interior design of the 57 Lodge guestrooms, suites, and main lobby. In keeping with Jay Peak's rugged nature and proudly offbeat attitude, we incorporated touches of local flavor and whimsy throughout the guestrooms, including locally sourced wood furniture, linens, and accessories.

You can check out the new lodge and get in one more weekend of spring skiing before the season wraps up for good. Check out the Jay Peak website for details on a special package deal that includes a night at the Tram Haus Lodge, lift tickets, and a Mother's Day brunch for $79.

Coincidentally, we just received these new photos of our work at the Tram Haus Lodge. Our thanks to Susan Teare for her super photography once again!

A Bench for the Montshire

Rolf Kielman, architect and principal with TruexCullins, recently collaborated with Lauritz Larsen, local furniture maker and artist, on a project for the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vermont.  Together, Rolf and Lars crafted a bench for visitors to the museum’s Woodland Garden as part of a competition open to members of the Vermont Furniture Guild.  In January a jury reviewed the submissions and selected Rolf and Lars’ design as one of five benches to be commissioned by the Montshire Museum.

The goal of the competition is to expand public awareness of and appreciation for the work of Vermont artisans, and provide artistic and functional features that will enhance visitors' enjoyment of Montshire's Woodland Garden.

An opening reception will be held this Friday, May 6th, from 5 to 8pm, at the Frog Hollow Vermont State Craft Center, on Church Street in Burlington.  The event is free and open to the public. The five winning benches will be on display on Friday night and will remain at Frog Hollow throughout the month of May.  In addition to Rolf Kielman and Lars Larsen, the exhibit features the work of master craftsmen Doug Clarner, Mark Dabelstein, David Hurwitz, and Dan Mosheim and sons.  After the show the benches will be permanently installed in the Montshire Museum’s Woodland Garden in Norwich.

We hope you can come out on Friday night and check out the winning designs and support all our Vermont artists!