site plan
Community Center
Shutesbury, MA
Timeless Architecture worked with Sirius Community and master builder Bruce Davidson on the design-development and construction drawings for this 12,300 s.f. community center and co-housing project located in Shutesbury, Massachusetts. The 2000 s.f. octagon, the largest of the meeting rooms in the center has been used for retreats, educational programs, performances and celebratory events at the eco village for 17 years. The construction was completed with the attached greenhouse in 2000. The super insulated building is heated by a central masonry fireplace, fueled from the sustainably managed woods on the 86-acre property.
Solar hot water and photovoltaics power the building. The community continues to develop integrated design components including composting toilets, grey water cycling and bio-fuels. A pioneer in teaching sustainable farming and building, Sirius Community has been running outreach and educational programs with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and other local and regional institutions since its founding in1978. In 1992, Mr. MacLean was invited by the Tuft’s University Center for Regional Sustainability to write an in depth case study of Sirius Community as part of a book, Sustainable Strategies, published in 1993, with a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (Chapter 5). For a synopsis, see: https://timearch.com/assets/SustainableStrategies.pdf.