Vassar Institute for the Liberal Arts

Nestled on the south side of the Alumnae House lawn at the campus gateway, Vassar’s new Inn and Institute for the Liberal Arts will combine conference space with 50 guest rooms and a restaurant.

The vision creates a space for faculty, students, innovators, leaders, and communities to exchange ideas and foster thoughtful dialogue, but also a social space connecting to town. Combining contextual sensitivity, functionality, and an authentic expression of Vassar’s philosophical ideals the new I&I will provide nearly limitless indoor-outdoor connections with natural light, views to campus, and to the surrounding park-like landscape. The landscape design creates a welcoming approach with fully accessible pathways and highlights native plant species and on-site water filtration.
The design of the building preserves the domestic scale of the surrounding neighborhood by breaking the program into discrete elements; a three-story gable roof Inn, a two-story Institute with a restaurant below, and a glass lobby to create notion of a public living room.
Vassar holds a deep commitment to sustainability and green building practices. Championed by its Students for Equitable Environmental Decisions (SEED), the I&I is planned to achieve Carbon Neutrality through the building’s high energy efficiency, well day-lit spaces, and the use of natural materials.

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