LANGSTON HIGH SCHOOL CONTINUATION AND LANGSTON-BROWN COMMUNITY CENTER Arlington, Virginia
Left, local offices. Center, local Apartment building.Right, Aerial view with Site Outline.
The Langston High School Continuation/Langston – Brown Community Center project design intent was to create a multiuse, multigenerational facility that would be bound to this storied African-American Arlington neighborhood. It is the result of community participation in a design charette process that spanned several weeks; seeking to explore ideas of appropriateness in the community, respect for the rich history of the African American heritage, and community gateway. The building design takes opportunities to recognize the rich history of the community (with the inclusion of a community historical archive room), while tying itself aesthetically to modern community projects (such as public art projects), and creating a new image for the future of this community. Positioned along Lee Highway, this building serves as the ‘gateway’ to this predominately neighborhood. The building form is complementary to the area’s existing civic building stock – balancing the technical applications of environmentally sustainable design with the need for sensitive community spaces.
b
c
Mass and void relationships are balanced along the southwest-oriented facade facing the neighborhood street. Sidewalk-level alcoves, overhangs and entry recesses reduce the potential weight of the overall project to a human scale. A facility for separate users, this building extends into the neighborhood with separate articulated entries.
a, c
a
b
Below, interior at high school class room. Below left, interior at high school entrance.
The building and site are a multi-dimensional indoor/outdoor learning environment and the county is developing an educational program to use the “building as a teaching tool� to illustrate a wide spectrum of scientific, mathematical, and social issues. The sustainable elements of the school distinguish it from other buildings in the community.
b
a
Library
Third Floor
Dance Gym
Exercise Room Game Room
Second Floor
Kitchen
Overhang Head Start High School Continuation Utility
Seniors
Community Spaces Corridors First Floor
b a c
Right, interior at first floor game room.
c
Clerestory windows provide additional natural lighting in every upper level classroom and raise the volume of space.The use of a stained concrete floor system was provided in lieu of applied resilient flooring reducing VOC’s and future waste. The building’s sunshades provide for indirect day lighting while maintaining views from more than 90% of the building’s occupied spaces.
Section-A
Section-B
a
Overhang Head Start High School Continuation Utility Community Spaces Corridors
A B
a
Below right, Interior at glazed library corner. Below, exterior at high school workroom.
Below, solar angle diagrams tracking annual sunlight exposure.
April-August : A
April-August : B
April-August : C
To reduce peak electrical demand multiswitched lighting with high-efficiency lighting ballasts have been provided for lighting control zones. Occupants can evaluate the need for lighting levels based on the daylight conditions. Education of occupants is part of a larger educational program set forth by the county to promote responsible use of resources. Operable windows provide alternate means of ventilation in case of power outage and HVAC failures.
b C
B A
a a
b
The school was the first building in Virginia to obtain a USGBC LEED rating (Silver) on September 3, 2003. Sustainable site considerations include use of pervious asphalt in the parking spaces, electric vehicle charging stations, a bio-retention area, two 24 foot tall 11,000 gallon rainwater collection tanks. The collected rainwater is used for onsite irrigation, sidewalk washing, and other uses in place of potable water. The credits from the LEED scorecard were put into a matrix and then discussed so that the owners could identify potential commitments to design solution strategies as high, average, or low potential. In keeping with the school mentality, this was done as a score card, or report card, with high commitment being an “A,” and low commitment being a “D,” and rejected strategies being “F.” The compilation of this matrix became the basis of design criteria for the design team. It allowed the Owner to be informed of sustainable design strategies to be incorporated in the design and was a vehicle to encourage “out of the box” thinking by the assembled multidisciplinary team.
Langston High School Continuation And Langston-Brown Community Center Arlington, Virginia
The Washington Chapter Architecture Awards 2005