Couch Academic Center

Design Team
AMA Consulting Engineers PC; KAA Structural Engineers; Richard W. Loeffler (Landscape Architect)

A tuition-free naval architecture college housed in a 1912 Gold Coast mansion on a historic campus needed to expand. The design task was to add 30,000 square feet of state-of-the-art teaching space without harming the view of the mansion or the handsomely landscaped site sloping down to Long Island Sound.

The architect’s concept was to create a “non-building” hidden under a grassy terrace behind the mansion, facing the Sound, offering the students broad views of the water and passing vessels as a connection to their naval studies. The new construction, topped by a planted roof, preserves the landscape and view corridors of the historic campus while providing the students a lesson on environmental responsibility.

The building consists of design-lecture classrooms and a gathering space for the entire student body of 125. Four double-size classrooms embrace an exterior courtyard, which serves as an additional teaching space. Arcades surround the courtyard and shield the classrooms from direct sunlight. A historic garden-wall remains inside as a hallway linking the classrooms, and a tunnel provides a hidden connection to the mansion.

Additional Information