The Heights, Bjarke Ingels Group’s first U.S. public school, merges two existing secondary schools (H-B Woodlawn and Eunice Kennedy Shriver) into one 180,000-sf building with space for up to 775 students.
The project, located in Arlington, Va., is situated on a compact site bounded by roads on three sides and a portion of Rosslyn Highlands Park. The Heights supports the visual and performing arts-focused curricula of H-B Woodlawn and the extensive resources for students with specialized educational needs of Enice Kennedy Shriver.
Students and staff are greeted by a triple-height lobby with stepped seating that doubles as an indoor gathering space for student assemblies and public gatherings. Adjacent to the lobby are many of the school’s common spaces including the 400-seat auditorium, main gymnasium, library, reception, and cafeteria. Other student spaces include an art studio, science and robotic labs, music rehearsal rooms, and two performing arts theaters.
See Also: Eight projects showcase the latest trends in student housing
Classroom bars, each defined by its own color, are the primary organizing elements and surround a central vertical core that contains the elevators, stairs, and bathrooms. The Shriver Program occupies two floors of the building, which are accessible from the ground floor and have specialized spaces dedicated to support APS’ Functional Life Skills program as well as privacy and ease of accessibility. The gym, courtyard, occupational physical therapy suite, and sensory cottage are designed to aid in sensory processing.
The building is conceived as a stack of five rectangular floorplates that rotate around a fixed pivot point, which creates a cascade of green terraces. The terraces become an extension of the classroom to create an indoor-outdoor learning landscape. The four tiered terraces are connected via a rotating central staircase that cuts through the interior of the building, allowing students to circulate outside. The upper terraces are suitable for intimate classes and quiet study areas while the spacious first terrace and the 18,700-sf recreation field serve as public event venues.
White glazed brick unifies the five volumes and highlights the oblique angles of the fanning classroom bars. The material palette pays homage to the historical architecture of Old Town Alexandria.
The Heights is on track to achieve LEED Gold. Bjarke Ingles Group designed the project with LEO A DALY as the executive architect.
Related Stories
| Aug 6, 2014
25 projects win awards for design-build excellence
The 2014 Design-Build Project/Team Awards showcase design-build best practices and celebrate the achievements of owners and design-build teams in nine categories across the spectrum of horizontal and vertical construction.
| Aug 5, 2014
Shigeru Ban-designed Aspen Art Museum will open doors to public this week
After 18 month of planning and construction, the museum will open its new Shigeru Ban-designed facility to the public on August 9.
| Aug 5, 2014
K-12 School Sector Giants: Pent-up demand finally produces movement in schools market [2014 Giants 300 Report]
After a long period of anemic performance, with growth mostly driven by renovations and additions, the K-12 sector is showing renewed interest in new construction, according to BD+C's 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Jul 30, 2014
Higher ed officials grapple with knotty problems, but construction moves ahead [2014 Giants 300 Report]
University stakeholders face complicated cap-ex stressors, from chronic to impending. Creative approaches to financing, design, and delivery are top-of-mind, according to BD+C's 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction market benefits from improving economy, new technology [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Following years of fairly lackluster demand for commercial property remodeling, reconstruction revenue is improving, according to the 2014 Giants 300 report.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Construction Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Structure Tone, Turner, and Gilbane top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction contractor and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, URS, and Wiss, Janney, Elstner top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, HDR, and HOK top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 23, 2014
Architecture Billings Index up nearly a point in June
AIA reported the June ABI score was 53.5, up from a mark of 52.6 in May.
| Jul 21, 2014
Economists ponder uneven recovery, weigh benefits of big infrastructure [2014 Giants 300 Report]
According to expert forecasters, multifamily projects, the Panama Canal expansion, and the petroleum industry’s “shale gale” could be saving graces for commercial AEC firms seeking growth opportunities in an economy that’s provided its share of recent disappointments.
