In Virginia, the City of Alexandria recently celebrated the topping out of a new building for Alexandria City High School. When complete in 2025, the high-performance structure will accommodate 1,600 students.
The project helps realize a local initiative called the Connected High School Network, which rethinks the way that the city delivers public high school education. The new building will help “reimagine the high school experience,” Alicia Hart, chief of facilities and operations of Alexandria City Public Schools, said in a statement.
The high school building will include interdisciplinary communities (or small learning neighborhoods); distributed science, art, and Career and Technical Education (CTE) labs; library/learning commons; and centralized and distributed administration and counseling. New and enhanced CTE opportunities will offer connections with local industry such as renewable energy, aerospace, cybersecurity, robotics, nursing, pharmacy, and surgical tech. Distributed dining areas have been reimagined as multistory “Creative Commons.”
The building also will serve as an intergenerational community facility, with two gymnasiums, an aquatics facility, an early childhood center, a Teen Wellness Center, and Alexandria Community and Human Services offices.
Designed by Perkins Eastman as a healthy and high-performing school, the new structure targets Net Zero Energy and LEED Gold Certification. The high-performance strategies include the following:
- Building enclosure: The design of the building’s walls, windows, and roof will minimize yearly energy loss, saving at least 25% more energy per year than a similar school designed to code-minimum levels.
- Efficient systems: A geothermal well field will provide the building’s highly efficient heating and cooling.
- Photovoltaic (PV) panels: A large PV system, located on the roof and other areas of the school site, will offset the school’s yearly energy use.
- Low-flow water fixtures: These will help reduce water use by 35% to 40% compared to a conventional building.
On the Building Team:
Owner: Alexandria City Public Schools
Design architect and architect of record: Perkins Eastman Architects
Associate architect: Maginniss + Del Ninno Architects
MEP engineer: CMTA
Structural engineer: Ehlert Bryan
Civil engineer and landscape architect: Kimley-Horn
Construction manager: Gilbane
Related Stories
Education Facilities | Nov 9, 2023
Oakland schools’ central kitchen cooks up lessons along with 30,000 meals daily
CAW Architects recently completed a facility for the Oakland, Calif., school district that feeds students and teaches them how to grow, harvest, and cook produce grown onsite. The production kitchen at the Unified School District Central Kitchen, Instructional Farm, and Education Center, (“The Center”) prepares and distributes about 30,000 meals a day for district schools lacking their own kitchens.
Products and Materials | Oct 31, 2023
Top building products for October 2023
BD+C Editors break down 15 of the top building products this month, from structural round timber to air handling units.
Giants 400 | Oct 30, 2023
Top 170 K-12 School Architecture Firms for 2023
PBK Architects, Huckabee, DLR Group, VLK Architects, and Stantec top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest K-12 school building architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 30, 2023
Top 100 K-12 School Construction Firms for 2023
CORE Construction, Gilbane, Balfour Beatty, Skanska USA, and Adolfson & Peterson top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest K-12 school building contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 30, 2023
Top 80 K-12 School Engineering Firms for 2023
AECOM, CMTA, Jacobs, WSP, and IMEG head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest K-12 school building engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
K-12 Schools | Oct 21, 2023
The Blueprint Schools Program in Maryland reins in construction time and cost
This collaborative P3 is also committed to expanding participation of small and minority businesses.
K-12 Schools | Oct 4, 2023
New high school in Minnesota provides career pathways for students
This 90-acre school campus also features myriad sports facilities.
K-12 Schools | Oct 2, 2023
4 design strategies for successful K-12 magnet schools
Clark Nexsen's Donna Francis, AIA, Principal, and Becky Brady, AIA, share four reasons why diverse K-12 magnet schools require diverse design.
Contractors | Sep 25, 2023
Balfour Beatty expands its operations in Tampa Bay, Fla.
Balfour Beatty is expanding its leading construction operations into the Tampa Bay area offering specialized and expert services to deliver premier projects along Florida’s Gulf Coast.
K-12 Schools | Sep 5, 2023
CHPS launches program to develop best practices for K-12 school modernizations
The non-profit Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) recently launched an effort to develop industry-backed best practices for school modernization projects. The Minor Renovations Program aims to fill a void of guiding criteria for school districts to use to ensure improvements meet a high-performance threshold.
