Oak Point Associates was hired by YCCC, a 1,600-student community college in Southern Maine, to expand its teaching opportunities with additional classroom space in a new building. The new facility is adjacent to the existing classroom and administration building, intending to invoke a campus feel with room to grow in the future. With a student body split between millennials and retirees, YCCC was looking for a way to complement its existing facility while also projecting a forward-looking and dynamic image. As the project team evaluated the existing facility, we observed that instead of congregating in a common space to share experiences and study together, students were retreating to their cars between classes. The original program was revised to include a bright and open space for students to congregate and study independently, along with eight variously sized teaching spaces and a lecture hall.

The 18,000 square foot building is set on a previously developed portion of a large site surrounded by wetlands. Chamfering the building mass allowed minimal impact to the existing site while opening a viewshed to the main entrance of the existing building, and framing a future quadrangle. Construction was completed in 2017, with a budget of $6 Million.