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During its first 8 years, Black Mountain College (BMC) operated out of a complex of rented YMCA buildings. After purchasing the Lake Eden Inn, a former summer resort, the College began to think about building a permanent campus that would reflect BMC’s community and experimental philosophy After a campus plan by Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer proved too expensive, Black Mountain decided they would build their campus themselves, using largely untrained student and faculty labor.

A Lawrence Kocher, who was known for projects like the Aluminaire House that showcased innovative materials and prefabricated components, was hired by BMC in 1940 to design the new Lake Eden Campus. His architectural proposals, developed in collaboration with students throughout the early 1940s, aimed to support the College’s educational program while experimenting with a democratic approach to construction.

The buildings designed by Kocher at Black Mountain College embodied its progressive educational philosophy by featuring Modern, accessible architectural solutions that could be built by novices, and participation in the building had lasting impacts on several BMC students including architects Claude Stoller, Don Page, and Alex Reed. In this presentation, art historian Frédérique Davreux-Hébert and designer Michael Beggs bring the challenges and triumphs of Black Mountain’s innovative campus building program to life and reveal the College’s fascinating Architectural legacy.