Easthampton Fire Station

Silas Kopf has been making studio furniture and fine European marquetry since 1973. He purchased this former fire station from the town of Easthampton and, with the help of Thomas Douglas Architects, he transformed an 8,000 square feet fire station from its original layout to a modern structure housing his studio shop and living spaces. This and other historic structures are integral to the old town’s identity, and this restoration enlivens the street scene without compromise.

The first floor, which used to be the fire station garage, now houses a high-end woodworking shop, an office, and a retail store. The second floor has two apartments, and the old fire tower holds a roof deck. We replaced the original fire station doors with arched windows and installed all new heating and electrical systems, including a radiant heat floor.

Smith College Chapin House

The Chapin House Dormitory stands in the center of Smith College and serves as a “grab and go” lunch place for the entire campus and as a quiet dinner spot for Chapin House residents. As such, TDA was engaged in this complete renovation to create an atmosphere that included the energy, mood and high traffic of lunch and the quiet warmth of a cozy dinner.

TDA’s designs incorporate a color scheme that uses custom, energy efficient lighting to accent the existing limed oak beams and a variety of seating choices encased in beautiful and durable fabrics. This old fashioned space was brought up to date with a new look that matches the vibe of today’s Smith College and a functionality that meets the needs of its students, faculty and staff.

Zorbas

Thomas Douglas Architects designed a modern, yet subtly Greek inspired restaurant in Worcester. The 4,000 square foot space revolves around a central social bar featuring curved booths, Greek marble bar tops and concealed indirect lighting.

Deerfield Academy Bewkes House

This historic house on the Deerfield Campus has been home to many different uses over its history. Deerfield Academy worked with Douglas Architects to reconfigure the first floor from offices to single and double occupancy rooms for students. The interiors were original to the house, complete with ornate crown moldings and fireplaces. The new design had to respect the historic detailing while accommodating a new use from many more occupants.

Amherst House

This 1700’s timber framed house was in danger of collapse before we started the renovation. The house frame was carefully straightened, a new 2nd floor was added and the wonderful existing porch with arched openings was rebuilt. The first floor was complexly remodeled with a new kitchen and living room. All work was done in a style that respected the original historic colonial home.

Amherst Cinema

The Amherst Cinema Center (ACC) proposed the transformation of an existing 1920’s single screen cinema into a performing arts facility for live and cinematic presentations. While the long and narrow configuration of the building was challenging, the lack of columns and structural walls within the auditorium space allow for a great deal of freedom in configuring the new spaces.

Our solution located 2 cinemas at the northern end of the existing auditorium space while the performance theater with a flexible stage and full fly gallery developed in the south end. The stage of the performance theater is comprised of 3 adjustable height platforms that allow for a variety of arrangements from a traditional proscenium theater to a "black box" configuration.

Jackson Street House

This house started off as a small cottage on a large lot in Northampton. The original house was added to over its history with various additions. Thomas Douglas Architects doubled the footprint and combined the old additions into one uniform cottage style home. The floor plan is open and modern and easily accommodates a growing family.

Seven Devils House

This post and beam vacation home in Seven Devils, North Carolina rests on a deeply sloping mountainside with 50 mile views into the valley from strategically designed window placements throughout.

The second floor consists entirely of a master bedroom that, for all intents and purposed, rises like a tree house from the rest of the building and offers 360-degree views. The entire home boasts built-in furniture and cabinets, and the living room centers around a large fireplace. An extensive, sheltering roof caps the home, projecting it from the cold winter winds of the North Carolina mountains.

Conway Street School

TDA worked with the owner/developer to transform an abandoned early 1900’s elementary school building into twelve apartments with very high energy efficiency. This project transformed a derelict building into one of the more iconic and desirable properties in town.

The structure of the three story, 4500 square foot masonry building was in excellent shape, allowing the team to completely gut the interior and begin the redesign with ample freedom also while maintaining the historic character of the building’s exterior.

The reimagined design takes advantage of the tall windows and high ceilings to create spaces that are airy, light and dramatic.  The second floor units each have an upper floor while the even the basement units have plenty of light and space.  The entire project has an emphasis on energy conservation and efficiency features. 

Sustainable features

Energy Efficiency:

• Very high insulation values in walls, roof and foundation

• Triple pane energy efficient windows

• Airsealing details

• Energy recovery ventilation

• Digital controls in each room control the heating system.

• Window shading from solar hot water system

• Window and skylights are used to get natural daylight into as much of the building as possible

 Materials:

• All paints & finishes used are low or no VOC (volatile organic compounds).

• Locally sourced wood and stone

• Interior finishes were chosen for their natural durability, beauty and environmental integrity

30 Olive

TDA worked with the owner to transform this 1920s former mill building, located just down from the center of the city, into a modern apartment building while preserving signature interior details and historic exterior features. 

The energy efficiency of the building envelope was improved immeasurably through careful airsealing and insulating, new windows, a new well-insulated roof and solar panels for both hot water and electricity generation. 

Sustainable features:

Energy Efficiency:

• Very high insulation values in walls, roof and foundation

• Air tight detailing used to prevent energy loss

• Heating and air conditioning use energy recovery

• Day lighting strategies are used to get natural lighting into the deep interior spaces.

• Photovoltaic and solar hot water arrays

Materials:

• Interior finishes were chosen for their natural durability, beauty and environmental integrity, locally sourced whenever possible.

180 Earle Street

Smith College and Economic Resources for Women (HER Inc.) formed a partnership to build this new 10,000 square foot house. The building contains 16-single room occupancy units, each with individual kitchenettes and bathrooms. The first floor has a 2-bedroom manager’s apartment as well as a common living room, conference room and laundry room. The building has accessible units and uses green materials like concrete board siding and linoleum flooring. The majority of on-site trees were carefully saved and all storm water runoff was retained on site. The building designed to use energy efficiently and sustainably and received EnergyStar certification.