This year, The Porches Inn at MASS MoCA celebrates 25 years as one of North Adams’ most distinctive landmarks, an innovative blend of historic preservation, playful design, hospitality, and the creative energy that has helped shape the city over the past quarter century.
For a quarter century it has been known for honoring its history while building for what comes next. Two of the property’s most distinctive structures came out of Bensonwood’s New Hampshire shops.
Studio 9: A building tuned like an instrument
In 2019, Bensonwood completed what was then called The Studio at Porches. It’s a 4,500-square-foot, net-zero building heated by geothermal and anchored by a heavy timber frame. Its centerpiece is a 1,110-square-foot conical assembly space with curtain walls on three sides.
The shape lends itself to the building’s acoustics, so the room carries sound the way a well-made instrument does.
Today the building operates as Studio 9, FreshGrass’s carbon-neutral recording studio and live-music venue. It also serves as event and meeting space for up to 120 guests. It shows how a timber frame designed around a specific purpose can take on a life of its own.
The FreshGrass Annex: Porches’ newest chapter
Six years later, we’re back on campus. The new FreshGrass Annex is an 8,300-square-foot addition designed by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and built in partnership with Bensonwood. It adds 10 guest rooms, artist studios, and shared gathering space. Its design draws on Shaker simplicity and on North Adams’ industrial past.
Both buildings reflect Bensonwood’s approach to offsite construction, refined over nearly 50 years. Each component is digitally engineered before timber frames, insulated floor, and roof panels are fabricated in our climate-controlled facility. The components are then delivered to the jobsite for efficient assembly.
On a working hotel campus with guests, performances, and neighbors, that approach means less disruption and a shorter build. It also produces a tighter, higher-performing building. Just as important, it lets a property grow piece by piece without losing its character.
Celebrating 25 years in North Adams
Porches marked its 25th anniversary by bringing the community back onto the campus for an afternoon of live music, art, local food, storytelling, and a performance at Studio 9. The celebration reflected how closely the Inn’s story has become connected with the broader creative community in North Adams.
Bensonwood Director of Business Development Seth Clarke joined a panel discussion during the event, reflecting alongside others connected to Porches on the property’s history, its evolution, and what comes next.
That conversation felt especially fitting with the FreshGrass Annex now complete. Twenty-five years after Porches first opened, the property continues to grow while holding onto the character and sense of community that have defined it from the beginning.
Happy 25th to the Porches team. We’re grateful to have played a part in two chapters of that story and look forward to seeing what comes next.
