The Dana Place Terrace and Library is a second-floor addition and renovation of a rigorous mid-century home in the center of Amherst, MA.   Nick and Jessica, the clients for this project, are both art historians with an extensive book collection and need for a private library.  Their growing family also requires the addition of three bedrooms and a bathroom for shared use by the children.  Magic is a must.

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The design inserts a vertical two-story library volume and light scoop along the existing chimney. Finishing the chimney is a polished venetian plaster will bounce southern light into the space and will change with the sun’s movement over the course of a day and with the seasons. Connected to the double height library will be a single-story volume with a large work table surrounded by the oversized book collection. The circulation within the light scoop will connect the library space to the new children’s bedrooms.  Additional renovations include insulating the entire roof for improved energy performance, updating windows, opening the wall between the kitchen and dining room and a new kitchen.  The great room was transformed by renovating the previously solid cap with vertical louvers to allow natural daylight to flood the main living space.