Design Profile | Green Building - Solebury School Hope Hall Girls’ Dormitory

Located on 140 acres in scenic Bucks County, Solebury School needed to expand its capacity for boarding students. The school’s vision was to create a dormitory — their first new residence building in decades — that authentically mirrored the essence of their high school students. The design team’s challenge was to reflect the school’s culture of mutual respect, freedom of expression, and the outdoors. The resulting three-story, 20-unit dormitory follows Passive House principles and is the first dormitory in the United States to receive full Phius certification. The exterior is inspired by a simple barn typology to align with passive design conventions and fit in with the campus aesthetic. The interior recalls the experience of being in a treehouse through large window seats, a choice inspired by an extensive community engagement process wherein students identified a “treehouse” as a place they’d most like to hang out on campus. The windows act as a warm invitation to students returning home during cold winter months and further connect the space to the landscape. The final design prioritizes spaces for living and socializing, including communal areas for cooking dinner, playing music, and watching movies, while also providing smaller breakaway spots for studying and quiet conversation. 

Project: Solebury School, Hope Hall Girls’ Dormitory 

Location: New Hope, PA  

Client: Solebury School 

Project Size: 14,898 square feet 

Project Team:  

Metcalfe (Architecture Planning)  

Gilmore & Associates, Inc. (Civil Engineer)  

Hunt Engineering Company (Structural Engineer)  

Castle & Associates, LLC (Owners Representative)  

Barton Associates, Inc. (Mechanical Systems Designer)  

Re:Vision Architecture (Certified Passive House Consultant and Project Verifier)  

Quarry View Building Group (General Contractor) 

Photos: Sahar Coston-Hardy/Esto