CAMDEN — Since the 2022 purchase of the building at 5 Mountain Street in Camden, Bay Chamber Concerts and Music School has worked with an accomplished team of architects, contractors, engineers, acousticians, and designers to reimagine and renovate their new home, according to Bay Chambers, in a news release. When completed in June 2024, the new Bixler Music Center will be a fully accessible 7,769 square foot building with 12 teaching studios and ensemble rooms, an intimate 130-seat concert hall, music library, recording studio, family room, and ample parking.
 
Bay Chamber has hired architect firm Barba + Wheelock and General Contractor Tamarack Builders to prioritize a sustainable redesign that incorporates green building techniques. This includes a partnership with TimberHP, a manufacturer of wood fiber insulation based in Madison, Maine. TimberHP is a new company that offers a high-performing, renewable, and carbon-negative insulation solution. TimberHP is the first dry process wood fiber insulation manufacturer in North America, and Bay Chamber is one of the first building sites to incorporate this new-to-the-market material, made possible by a generous insulation donation from TimberHP.

“Wood Fiber insulation from TimberHP is not only made of a renewable, carbon sequestering resource, it is also a boon to our community,” says Cal Egan, of Tamarack Builders, in the Bay Chamber news release. “It represents a chance for Maine to reinvent its forestry-based economy for the twenty first century. We feel fortunate to be one of the first projects in the country to use Timber Fill.” 

Additional green features of the net-zero, all electric building include a heat pump heating and cooling system, the installation of triple paned windows, use of Maine-grown timber, an LED lighting system, and a native plant landscape architecture plan. The building will be powered by an off-site community solar array through Revision Energy, made possible by a generous donor.
 
With the support of a close circle of donors and friends, Bay Chamber has raised $7.5 Million toward an $8 Million campaign goal. The sum includes funds for building acquisition, expansion, renovation, operations, and a Music School scholarship fund. To learn more about how you can be a part of this exciting project in the home stretch, contact Josie Davis, josie@baychamber.org or call 207.236.2823.