Bennington College
Bennington, VT
Bennington College is a distinctive private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, where creativity, interdisciplinary learning, and student-directed study are foundational values. With an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 700, Bennington has been a nurturing ground for artists including Helen Frankenthaler, Paul Feeley, Sally Mann, and Odili Donald Odita. The visual arts are the leading concentration of Bennington undergraduates, and programs are housed in the Helen Frankenthaler ’49 Center for Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA). At over 120,000 square feet, VAPA is one of the largest wood-frame academic art facilities in America.
A 2021 FCI Implementation Grant supported installation of LED lighting and efficiency controls at the VAPA building which resulted in ~123,000 kWh of savings per year. A subsequent 2022 FCI Implementation Grant replaced 56 single-pane 1970s-era windows with argon-insulated double-paned glazing and a low-emissivity coating.
A 2026 FCI Technical Assistance Grant will support engineering analyses in three priority areas at the VAPA building: replacing the failing steam pipe system that carries heat from the campus biomass plant; upgrading the building's obsolete electrical switchgear that currently prevents renewable energy integration; and assessing the feasibility of rooftop solar. The engineering work will produce implementation-ready drawings and cost estimates for improvements expected to save approximately $93,000 annually in energy costs and offset more than 8,500 tons of COâ‚‚ over twenty years.