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
University Buildings | Aug 13, 2015
Best of Education Design: 9 projects named AIA Education Facility Design Award winners
Georgia Tech's Clough Commons, Boston's Berklee Tower, and seven other facilities were honored for aiding learning and demonstrating excellent architectural design.
Giants 400 | Aug 7, 2015
K-12 SCHOOL SECTOR GIANTS: To succeed, school design must replicate real-world environments
Whether new or reconstructed, schools must meet new demands that emanate from the real world and rapidly adapt to different instructional and learning modes, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.
Giants 400 | Aug 7, 2015
UNIVERSITY SECTOR GIANTS: Collaboration, creativity, technology—hallmarks of today’s campus facilities
At a time when competition for the cream of the student/faculty crop is intensifying, colleges and universities must recognize that students and parents are coming to expect an education environment that foments collaboration, according to BD+C's 2015 Giants 300 report.
University Buildings | Jul 28, 2015
OMA designs terraced sports center for UK's Brighton College
Designs for what will be the biggest construction project in the school’s 170-year history feature a rectangular building at the edge of the school’s playing field. A running track is planned for the building’s roof, while sports facilities will be kept underneath.
University Buildings | Jul 21, 2015
Maker spaces: Designing places to test, break, and rebuild
Gensler's Kenneth Fisher and Keller Roughton highlight recent maker space projects at MIT and the University of Nebraska that provide just the right mix of equipment, tools, spaces, and disciplines to spark innovation.
Education Facilities | Jul 14, 2015
Chile selects architects for Subantarctic research center
Promoting ecological tourism is one of this facility’s goals
Museums | Jun 28, 2015
Manhattan's New Museum debuts first museum-led incubator space
Part studio, part shared workplace, part lab, and part professional development program, NEW INC connects design with technology, the arts with the market, students with seasoned practitioners, and the museum with the world.
Codes and Standards | Jun 18, 2015
New document addresses school safety and security
In an effort to balance security and fire safety features within codes, standards and planning, NFPA hosted a two-day workshop, “School Safety, Codes and Security”, last December. The findings are now available in an NFPA report.
BIM and Information Technology | May 27, 2015
4 projects honored with AIA TAP Innovation Awards for excellence in BIM and project delivery
Morphosis Architects' Emerson College building in Los Angeles and the University of Delaware’s ISE Lab are among the projects honored by AIA for their use of BIM/VDC tools.
University Buildings | May 19, 2015
Special Report: How your firm can help struggling colleges and universities meet their building project goals
Building Teams that want to succeed in the higher education market have to help their clients find new funding sources, control costs, and provide the maximum value for every dollar.