Thorndale Farm, the management offices for a privately run family trust, is designed  to speak to its surrounding context, amid barns and outbuildings, on the back street of a rural Hudson Valley town. It also supports entertainment and events for investors.

Working as architect of record in collaboration with design partner G.P. Schafer Architects, LLC, and interior designer Eve Ashcraft, VMA created a mix of open and private offices supported by a double-height multi-purpose space. Within this is a formal conference room, meeting room, staff break room with a full catering kitchen. To balance uses, the event space was designed with an open flow plan so various activities could occur simultaneously. With the catering kitchen tucked away from guests, it nevertheless remains easily accessible to staff. The building forms a “U,”  defining an intimate exterior courtyard, where all the major spaces open to a gracious tree-lined, paved space. At the same time, the furniture and color schemes are inspired by the minimalist Shaker aesthetic.

Awards

Traditional Building Magazine, Palladio Award - New Design & Construction less than 30,000 sf, 2018
Institute for Classical Architecture & Art, Stanford White Award, 2016

PUBLICATIONS

• "Traditional Corporate Offices" by Gordon H. Bock. Traditional Building, June 2018.
• "Thorndale farms moves into its office building." The Millbrook Independent, 18 February 2015.