"Hayground School’s New Integrated Arts & Sciences Building Halfway Complete, Dedicated to Co-Founder"
By Hope Hamilton, in the Sag Harbor Express, Published Aug 11, 2026
As of the end of July, the construction of Hayground School’s new Integrated Arts and Sciences (IASC) building, which started from the ground up at the beginning of this year, is more than halfway complete.
The IASC has been dedicated the “Jon Snow Art Studio,” in recognition of Hayground co-founder Jon Snow’s more than 30 years of service to the Bridgehampton school. Snow is a co-founder of both Hayground’s school and summer camp, and has also served roles as faculty chair and artist-in-residence.
“Without Snow, there would be no Hayground,” co-founder Toni Ross wrote in a press release announcing the dedication.
The IASC will be Hayground’s new home for science and art classes, taught by Hayground’s scientist-in-residence Ryan O’Keefe, and artists-in-residence Sabra Moon Elliot and Perry Burns. The building will include science laboratories, an underground library and art studios within a single facility, built to support Hayground’s hands-on, mentor-based approach, and will be used for both its school year and summer camp programs. Above, there will be a rooftop teaching garden, and an outdoor amphitheater for performances and gatherings.
According to Burns, the IASC aligns deeply with Hayground School’s philosophies. Hayground was founded in 1996 on the premise that all children can live a life of the mind, that social and environmental responsibility are core educational values and that the arts belong at the center of learning rather than at its periphery.
“Both the science teacher and art teachers are professional practitioners in their domains and are therefore scientist-in-residence and artists-in-residence,” Burns explained. “That is intentional as the school wants teachers who are deeply invested and passionate about their domains.”
The students will come to the art studio (and/or science lab) for classes that are over two hours long, Burns said, so they can get deeply engaged in their study or project.
Both the science and art program are designed to be integrated, with students intentionally working on projects individually, in small groups and as a whole school.
“We intentionally set up the art studio so that kids have access to virtually any material, and they can access those materials independently,” Burns said, emphasizing the importance of these kids being actual artists. “They will work as any artist would; choosing materials, making choices on composition, construction, look, feel, aesthetics and all the variables in between.”
At Hayground School, Burns explained, faculty and students alike believe in the impact of the arts on a child’s learning and development, which is what makes the IASC so important.
“As opposed to say, math, where you might be working from variables toward one solution, the arts engage divergent thinking,” Burns said. “Essentially, any action you take with a material introduces a myriad of possible new directions or potential actions. Thus, the child is having to think creatively and make decisions on multiple levels with the outcome directly tied to their own choices and vision.”
The building was designed by architect David Berridge, and built by John Barrows of P3 Builders, with an energy-efficient focus in mind. “Green” building — sustainable, resilient construction — is Barrows’s forte, he said.
The IASC will incorporate geothermal heating and cooling, rooftop solar panels, and low-carbon construction materials as part of the school’s commitment to “reducing operational and construction-related emissions.”
“The starting point was to make this building as much of a sustainable, low-environmental-impact building that we possibly could,” Barrows said.
The building went through several different design stages, ending up with what Barrows called a “balancing act” between low-carbon and high-efficiency strategies.
“We ended up with what’s called a ‘mass timber construction,’” Barrows said. A sustainable construction method, it included glue-laminated timber for the building’s beams and cross-laminated timber for the floors.
With the bones of the structure, Barrows and his team put structurally insulated panels around the outside to create energy efficiency.
When asked why they focused so much on sustainable strategies for building the IASC, Barrows said that it aligns with the “ethos of the school.”
“Hayground has a very sustainable philosophy for the school,” he said. “From my understanding, it’s been that way since their inception. This was put forward as our keystone, and we’re showing what can be done when you put sustainability first.”
Barrows said the construction is about 60 percent finished, and the IASC is estimated to be completed in November or December of this year.