Housing at Bennington reflects a range of architectural styles from modern to traditional New England. Each of the 20 student houses is a small community. All offer single and double rooms and house approximately 30 students.

All houses have a kitchen and living room—most with fireplaces—where students relax, study, and hold weekly Coffee Hours to discuss campus and house issues as a group. Student houses vary in architecture—clapboard houses that reflect 1930s New England, more modern houses with innovative shapes and angles, and award-winning contemporary houses that were featured in Architectural Record soon after their construction in 2001. The Princeton Review counted Bennington among the top colleges with “Dorms Like Palaces” in 2003.

Two undergraduate students in each house serve as House Chairs—students selected to facilitate community living. House Chairs help with day-to-day issues like adjusting to college, living with a roommate, understanding student expectations, privileges, and responsibilities, and becoming an active member of the community. They serve as a resource to other students in the house, as links to other offices on campus, and as mediators in any conflicts that may arise.

Want to learn more about housing at Bennington? Check out our campus feature stories on:

• The essentials of what it's like to live in Bennington houses
• Perks and quirks of each house, and fun community events
• The roommate experience and the atmosphere
• Organic living at Bennington's off-campus co-op house

One of the 12 Colonial-style houses.

One of the new houses completed in 2001. They were featured in Architectural Record.

One of the Barnes houses.