March 2008

Dear Hilltop Community,

Since my last report in January the Board and Facilities teams have been very busy. We have received good news in regards to our pursuit of the Highpoint property. The town voted unanimously to allow schools into the Rural Residential district. We also received a preliminary go ahead from the town department heads – fire, police, water, etc. The Facilities team met with neighbors of the Highpoint development and received positive feedback. Concerns for neighbors surround traffic and the poor condition of Guilford Street.

The Design Committee has been working closely with the talented BreadLoaf team. Our work is currently focused on preparing the necessary site design and engineering documents so as to begin the Act 250 permitting process. Setting floor plans and building footprints in place while making the best use of the site's existing structures is an exciting process. To date, fine tuning the site design has been a community effort. Making all the right choices about traffic flow and student flow, courtyards and playing fields takes many heads thinking together. To facilitate such a process BreadLoaf lead three community-based charrettes, the first for staff and a second for students. In each gathering participants brainstormed what the best Hilltop campus would look, act, and feel like. The charrettes generated countless good ideas and dozens of spontaneous renderings, space designs, and campus plans.

BreadLoaf architects Andrea Murray and Jan Becker then led a community Charrette on Feb. 9. We started the morning by looking at drawings made by Primary students of how the new campus should look. Pictures of gyms, long tables ample enough to seat the entire school for outdoor meals, and sketches of their future school drew laughter and joy from the crowd. Andrea and Jan followed by sharing insights on the essential elements of good design: light, air, aesthetics, sustainable building practices, gentle v. sharp lines, human v. traffic flow, and honoring the attributes of the physical site.

Attendees then split into five work groups for an extensive exercise in design planning. Each group was given a photo and a site plan of an existing school (not designed by BreadLoaf). These campuses were located all over the world and provided diverse examples of contemporary campus design. The groups were asked to examine these schools based on the elements of design and answer the question: "What do you like and dislike about this building/campus." After substantial critiquing the teams reported to the larger group on their findings and several unifying themes emerged. A sampling includes:

• Make use of wood and natural products
• Thoughtful and safe pedestrian and traffic circulation essential to campus feel and use
• Rural character should be reflected in the design
• Programs need to retain connectivity/cross pollination
• Natural light a priority in the classrooms
• Sustainability a priority
• Kitchens should serve as central gathering places
• “Sacred spaces” are vital

After each group reported its findings, an excellent discussion ensued on a host of design considerations, not the least of which was the highest and best use for the existing house.

The Board wants to thank all the students, parents, and staff who participated in these valuable design exercises. Thank you all! In addition, I thank you all for your tremendous support during these rather active times in Hilltop's growth. There is so much positive energy and excitement in the air! From the many meetings to the charrettes to the people volunteering left and right it is hard for us to keep up with our expressions of gratitude, but we will keep trying! THANK YOU!

Your Board President,
Leland Smith