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
| Aug 11, 2010
Gensler, HOK, HDR among the nation's leading reconstruction design firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 100 Reconstruction Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Gensler among eight teams named finalists in 'classroom of the future' design competition
Eight teams were recognized today as finalists of the 2009 Open Architecture Challenge: Classroom. Finalists submitted designs ranging from an outdoor classroom for children in inner-city Chicago, learning spaces for the children of salt pan workers in India, safe spaces for youth in Bogota, Colombia and a bamboo classroom in the Himalayan mountains.
| Aug 11, 2010
ASHRAE introduces building energy label prototype
Most of us know the fuel efficiency of our cars, but what about our buildings? ASHRAE is working to change that, moving one step closer today to introducing its building energy labeling program with release of a prototype label at its 2009 Annual Conference in Louisville, Ky.
| Aug 11, 2010
10 tips for mitigating influenza in buildings
Adopting simple, common-sense measures and proper maintenance protocols can help mitigate the spread of influenza in buildings. In addition, there are system upgrades that can be performed to further mitigate risks. Trane Commercial Systems offers 10 tips to consider during the cold and flu season.
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, HOK top BD+C's ranking of the 75 largest state/local government design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 State/Local Government Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Suffolk breaks ground on colorful charter school in Boston
Suffolk Education has broken ground and began renovations and construction of a new $39.6 million facility to house the Boston Renaissance Charter Public School. The Suffolk team is renovating an existing, three-story mill building and warehouse in the Hyde Park section of Boston, Massachusetts, and constructing a 20,000 square-foot addition.
| Aug 11, 2010
PBK, DLR Group among nation's largest K-12 school design firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 75 K-12 School Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Turner Building Cost Index dips nearly 4% in second quarter 2009
Turner Construction Company announced that the second quarter 2009 Turner Building Cost Index, which measures nonresidential building construction costs in the U.S., has decreased 3.35% from the first quarter 2009 and is 8.92% lower than its peak in the second quarter of 2008. The Turner Building Cost Index number for second quarter 2009 is 837.
