The Conservancy is committed to building a net-zero, sustainable headquarters in downtown Keene. With your support, we brought in a team of experts including SP Architects, Bensonwood Homes, and Chapman Construction to see this vision come to life. See the progress for yourself! We also wanted to share an interview with Seth Clarke, director of business development (and an architect himself) at Bensonwood, who helped explain how Bensonwood's approach ensures sustainability.
Thank you for talking with us today! When we began thinking about building a permanent home for the Conservancy, ensuring that this new space was built, and could be operated, in a sustainable way was top of mind. Working with Bensonwood made this goal achievable. Can you talk about some of the ways the Bensonwood building process is different from more traditional processes, and how that impacts the overall sustainability of the project?
Seth Clarke (SC): Unlike conventional site-built construction, Bensonwood uses an offsite, precision-engineered approach. Our building components are fabricated in a controlled environment, which dramatically reduces material waste and improves quality. This process also shortens on-site construction time, minimizing disruption and lowering the carbon footprint associated with transportation and staging. By integrating advanced modeling and high-performance materials from the start, sustainability isn’t an afterthought—it’s embedded in every step.
The Conservancy is so excited to move into our forever home. Beyond the raising process, how does Bensonwood’s techniques and technologies help make the building more sustainable to operate?
SC: Our systems are designed for long-term efficiency. We prioritize robust insulation, airtight assemblies, and advanced window systems to reduce energy loss. Combined with mechanical ventilation and heat recovery, these features create a building that requires far less energy to heat, cool, and maintain comfortable air quality. The result is a space that performs exceptionally well over decades, lowering operating costs and environmental impact.
The Conservancy plans to host events in this new space and SP Architects did an amazing job of designing a community space that we can be proud of. Can you talk a little about how that space in particular will be welcoming to the community in terms of air flow, internal temperature, and acoustics?
SC: SP Architects designed a beautiful, open and daylit space graced with a handsome expression of timber structure for that biophilic quality. We complemented that design with building science. The structure incorporates balanced ventilation and zoned heating and cooling, ensuring fresh air and stable temperatures even during events. Acoustically, our builds use materials that absorb sound without compromising aesthetics, so conversations and presentations feel natural and clear. It’s a space that will feel comfortable and connected.
Finally, we are always interested in professional opinions on the future of building and construction. Are there trends in design, building, and construction that make you optimistic for our shared future? Conversely, are there any issues with traditional designs and builds that you think can be improved from a sustainability perspective?
SC: We think an important inflection point has arrived. The inefficiencies of traditional stick-built methods are well known—too much material waste, inconsistent quality, and limited ability to meet modern health and energy standards. These approaches make it difficult to achieve the performance and sustainability goals that today’s buildings demand. So what we’re seeing is that the industry is shifting toward high-performance, low-carbon solutions. Prefabrication is becoming mainstream, delivering greater precision, less waste, and faster timelines. Mass timber is gaining traction as a renewable structural material, and lifecycle thinking is taking center stage—designing buildings that remain adaptable and efficient for decades.
For Bensonwood, the future is about combining craftsmanship with advanced building science to create spaces that are healthy, resilient, and environmentally responsible.