The Ecology School

The Ecology School at River Bend Farm in Saco, Maine, represents what you might call anti-architecture. Comprising nearly 15,300 square feet of living, eating, and educational-support spaces, the project is, from an energy standpoint, virtually invisible—its embodied and operational carbon are offset by the energy it creates.

The new Ecology School works the way it does for a reason: the shared notion between client and designers that the architecture should be in service to the school’s larger goal of teaching ecological stewardship. That, at least, was the design brief issued by the facility’s CEO and president, Drew Dumsch, who has overseen the nonprofit since its founding in 1998. Over time, the program has grown from operating seasonally out of a rented summer camp to running year-round on a 105-acre tract of pristine land about 7 miles northwest of downtown.

Three Portland firms interviewed for the job—Kaplan Thompson Architects, Simons Architects, and Briburn—and all three got it, owing to the client’s wish to make the project stronger through a diversity of design approaches. Ultimately, Kaplan Thompson took the lead on the overall project, Simons Architects designed the 6,380-square-foot dining commons, and Briburn designed the 8,893-square-foot dormitory. Although the teams claim credit for their individual contributions, they are resolute about their collaboration throughout the project.

“We compete on work as firms—and we are all within walking distance from each other—but we put that aside to fulfill this project,” says Jesse Thompson, AIA, founding principal of Kaplan Thompson. “There is a tradition in New England in the common good being regarded as greater than the individual, and there’s also a strong community work ethic at the school we tried to honor, too.”

Working with the Saco-based landscape architecture firm Richardson & Associates, the firms began with a charrette, probing how to interpret traditional campus models, balance the school’s programmatic needs, and intervene as little as possible within the landscape itself. The firms also surveyed the local ecology in detail, walking the site with noted ecologist Tom Wessels and deciding to pin their campus plan to a line of maple trees.

The resulting scheme, which spans just over 8 acres, is just as thoughtful. To the east lies the school’s edible landscape, a field bearing produce that feeds students and staff. The new dormitory, meanwhile, marches up a small hill to the west. By creating three modestly scaled residential buildings in the form of barns, inspired by local vernacular and united by open-air walkways, Briburn was able to make thousands of square feet seem like it had always been there. The buildings also provide flexibility to the school, which hosts eight different program types, from day-long STEM field trips to week-long intensive camps to professional development workshops for teachers.

“The school wanted the architecture to be recessive to the land because they wanted buildings for kids who aren’t supposed to be in buildings. They are supposed to be out in the land learning,” says Christopher Briley, AIA, founding partner and principal architect at Briburn. “So, before we knew what our roles were, we really tried to get the first part right.”

Tasked with sheltering the school’s 200 hungry learners, Simons Architects designed a spacious education and dining commons, which was inspired in its form by the site’s existing 1794 farmhouse. Inside, there is room for gathering and group work—not to mention eating—and a commercial, fully electric kitchen that requires no combustion, relying on electrical induction instead. Outside, the Simons design team created a deep, south-facing porch that engages the site and supports 200 solar panels on the roof, which, along with the ground-mounted photovoltaic array, produces nearly 348,000kWh of energy and 105% of the school’s needs.

Furthering the team’s environmental goals, water leaves the site cleaner than when it entered, thanks to carbon filtration and ultraviolet light; the system treats wastewater without chemicals across the entire school, as well as gray water for the school’s fields and gardens. While both the dormitory and dining commons were designed and constructed to meet the Living Building Challenge, the process to get there was uncertain.

“We had to invent it as we went along, but we gained traction,” says Scott Simons, FAIA, founder, partner, and principal of Simons Architects. His partner and fellow principal Ryan Kanteres, AIA, agrees, noting that hiring three firms also strengthened sustainable design in Maine overall.

“If you have three offices doing a project, you multiply the knowledge base out there for working with the Living Building Challenge,” Kanteres says. “We’ve learned so much from each other and we’ve become stronger architects.”

This article first appeared in the July/August 2023 issue of ARCHITECT.