UMass Opens New Pavillion on Orchard Hill
The UMass Orchard Hill Pavilion, open in the back to its parklike setting, invites enjoyment of the natural surroundings. Photo: umass.edu
The open-air Orchard Hill Pavilion, UMass Amherst’s new 1,600-sq-ft multipurpose space for events, meetings or quiet self-reflection, was officially launched on Thursday, May 8, with a special reception and ribbon cutting.
The pavillion had been the target of considerable public opposition beginning in January 2023 (see also here and here) when the University proposed to built it on land adjacent to the Arthur F. Kinney Center for Renaissance Studies. The University subsequently decided in May of 2023 to move the construction to Orchard Hill.
The pavilion, seated in a park-like setting at the eastern edge of campus off Orchard Hill Drive, has a gently sloping pitched roof but no back wall. A stone patio leads into the structure, which opens onto a trellis covered, 620-sq-ft deck. The pavilion’s contemporary design—with white concrete walls punctuated by small, brightly colored windows—and its views of the hills beyond campus provide a sense of calm that invites reflection or simply a desire to enjoy the natural surroundings.
Among the special guests attending the event were Chancellor Javier Reyes, former Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy, UMass Board of Trustees co-chair Mary Burns, UMass Building Authority Executive Director Barbara Kroncke, Special Assistant to the UMass Amherst Chancellor Robert Feldman, and project architect Sigrid Miller Pollin, who is also professor of architecture emerita.
Chancellor Reyes praised the structure, saying “It invites you to pause, to take a moment to absorb the texture, the light and the colors…it truly enriches our campus.”
“I’ve always enjoyed seeing new spaces on campus and how students and staff take advantage of it,” said Burns, adding that, along with Old Chapel and the Student Union, “this is a latest special place on our campus.”
Each of the speakers praised Miller Pollin’s innovative and sustainable design, which is also evident in her design of two previous UMass Amherst buildings on North Pleasant Street: Gordon Hall, home to the Political Economy Research Institute since 2003, and its neighbor, Crotty Hall, home of the UMass Amherst Economics Department and the university’s first “net zero” structure.
A rapidly approaching storm necessitated abbreviated remarks from Kroncke and Feldman, and before project architect Miller Pollin could speak, event emcee Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities and Campus Services Shane Conklin closed the event, which concluded at the chancellor’s residence, Hillside, with Miller Pollin’s remarks and the ribbon cutting.