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
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.
Higher Education | Oct 10, 2023
Tracking the carbon footprint of higher education campuses in the era of online learning
With more effective use of their facilities, streamlining of administration, and thoughtful adoption of high-quality online learning, colleges and universities can raise enrollment by at least 30%, reducing their carbon footprint per student by 11% and lowering their cost per student by 15% with the same level of instruction and better student support.
Giants 400 | Sep 28, 2023
Top 80 University Building Engineering Firms for 2023
AECOM, Jacobs, BR+A, and Salas O'Brien head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest university sector engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue for all university/college-related buildings except student residence halls, sports/recreation facilities, laboratories, S+T-related buildings, parking facilities, and performing arts centers (revenue for those buildings are reported in their respective Giants 400 ranking).
Giants 400 | Sep 28, 2023
Top 100 University Building Construction Firms for 2023
Turner Construction, Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., STO Building Group, Suffolk Construction, and Skanska USA top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest university sector contractors and construction management firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue for all university/college-related buildings except student residence halls, sports/recreation facilities, laboratories, S+T-related buildings, parking facilities, and performing arts centers (revenue for those buildings are reported in their respective Giants 400 ranking).
University Buildings | Sep 27, 2023
Top 170 University Building Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, CannonDesign, Page Southerland Page, SmithGroup, and Ayers Saint Gross top the ranking of the nation's largest university sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
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.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 115 Architecture Engineering Firms for 2023
Stantec, HDR, Page, HOK, and Arcadis North America top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture engineering (AE) firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
2023 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
A record 552 AEC firms submitted data for BD+C's 2023 Giants 400 Report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
