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Langley High School

McLean, VA, USA

A low-slung, nondescript 1960s high school gets new life with a modernization and expansion that reimagines a previously underutilized courtyard as the heart of the school's new presence.

Reorganized around a substantial but underutilized courtyard that was reimagined as the heart of the school community, program elements are arranged so that every aspect of the student experience touches and returns to the heart throughout the day.

This comprehensive modernization and expansion of a bland and aging 1960s building knits the school more closely to its community and transforms it into a civic landmark and welcoming learning environment. The impressively scaled and simple volume of the new Library addition anchors a collage of new forms that assert a civic presence in the community, and provide the backdrop to a new landscape amphitheater in the front yard.

Major additions are arranged to clarify the building’s organization, to be readily understood as a completed whole and easily navigated. The low-slung two-story structure is reorganized around a substantial but underutilized courtyard that was reimagined as the heart of the school community.

Project Facts

  • Client:

  • Fairfax County Public Schools
  • Project Features:

  • STEM-oriented Component
  • Services:

  • Architecture, Campus Planning
  • Markets:

  • K-12 Education
  • Region:

  • United States
  • Studios:

  • Washington, D.C.

    Awards

  • 2019 Best Design Award: Renovation/Additions for Secondary School, The Association for Learning Environments Virginia
  • 2019 Merit Award, AIA NoVa
  • 2017 Merit Award, Institutional category, Fairfax County Planning & Development