Inspired by traditional mountain lodges, the 27,000-sf Highland Center was designed with sustainable materials and cutting-edge energy- and resource-saving technologies. It serves as both an educational and lodging facility, offering classrooms and accommodations for 122 guests in hostel and lodge-style spaces that encourage community interaction.
The lodge features a two-story living room oriented toward Crawford Notch, with a roofscape that echoes traditional hotel imagery while reinforcing a human-scaled design. Site planning minimizes car presence by placing parking around the perimeter and creating green, campus-like communal areas.
The Highland Center’s site plan incorporates several historic structures, including the Shapleigh studio (1885), the Crawford Notch Railroad Depot (1875), and a former carriage house (1905), all repurposed for AMC use. At Thayer Hall, the original timber frame was preserved, while the interior was upgraded with recycled steel, modern systems, and new finishes.
Inspired by the AMC’s motto “walk lightly on the land,” the design emphasizes environmental stewardship. The lodge features an ultra-efficient exterior envelope with 6–8” insulated panels, triple-pane windows, natural ventilation, and a central wood-fired biomass boiler
The final design ensured that less than 2.5% of the site would be disturbed by construction and paving. The project demonstrates that sustainable buildings can both honor their environmental context and express the advanced technologies that power them.
Architect LDa Architecture & Interiors, Joint Venture with Carlone Associates
Builder MacMillin
Landscape Architect Halvorson Design Partnership, Inc.
Photographer Peter Vanderwarker
2005 AIA New Hampshire People’s Choice Award