Named for the 1,400-ft Berkshire peak to its west, Indian Mountain School is a PK–9 independent boarding school located in Lakeville, Connecticut, serving 186 students. The school’s new 8,000-sf Student Center integrates visual arts, music, and science through collaborative, cross-disciplinary, and project-based learning. The space also serves as a gathering space for boarders and an activity hub for parents.

The form of the building recalls a traditional New England barn with a sloped tin roof, exposed timber and board, and batten siding. This traditional form is made innovative by a large area of glass, angled in plan and fastened directly to the post and beam construction. In order to inspire a connection between students and the surrounding landscape, the western side of the building opens directly onto the grounds, and every classroom has a door to the outside.

The flexible interior design includes clusters of art and music classrooms that open onto a clerestory-lit common area that is used as project and maker space during the day and a student lounge in the evening. A “fab lab” hosts interdisciplinary projects in science, visual arts, music, and other academic subjects.

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