Coldham & Hartman designed a Campus Center for College of the Atlantic which demonstrated the institution's mandate to establish new buildings which embody the latest thinking in sustainable, resourceful design. This building was designed to create a built environment that would nurture a student's interaction with natural systems, as well as provide a flexible and adaptable series of spaces that meet the functional needs of the college.

The campus center would have incorporated sustainable building systems and services to provide ventilation, cooling and heating. For example, two wood pellet fuel boilers were to provide heat and ventilation will use a 100% outdoor air system.

The campus at night is a dark place. This new campus center was designed to establish a "lantern" or "hearth" quality at the center of campus that would enliven the evening in its immediate vicinity and projects a luminous vitality toward the college entry.

The flat roof was designed to address the need to manage snowfall accumulation. Retaining the snow on the roof rather than discharging it would have had benefits for public safety and reduced maintenance oblications for a building that is centrally located and approached from multiple aspects.

The new campus center was to be distinguished by the flow of space between inside and out. Understanding the harsh winter climate that predominates for the bulk of the academic year, we expected the outdoor spaces to be favorable-though stimulating- wintertime microclimates--comfortable for short periods on sunny days.

The interior of the building was expected to possess a "biophilic" feeling that taps into the deep bonds between people and nature. Design elements included the ephemeral qualities of daylight, the cleansing ionizing and sympathetically gurgling sounds of moving water, view out to natural settings, a fireplace, fragrant vegetation, and natural materials such as stone and wood.