T.C. Williams High School, designed by Moseley Architects, won the 2008 Southeast Regional Conference Design Award for Best High School New Construction Design by the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI).
Managing principal of the project, Jim Copeland, AIA, accepted the award on behalf of Moseley Architects at the awards banquet, held during the conference in South Carolina.
The annual competition, known as the Exhibit of School Architecture, invites CEFPI school architects to submit a recent project and/or project in the planning phase, to one of six award categories: New construction for elementary, middle, or high school; renovation/addition for any grade level; other higher education/special educational facility; and proposed projects for any grade level, higher education/specialty education facility.
Three solutions describe the frontrunner in this years Best High School New Construction Design: community-minded, safety-conscious, and eco-friendly. A super-sized facility, constructed on a constrained 22-acre city-space, the design for T.C. Williams High School is recognized for meeting key educational and community objectives of Alexandria City Public Schools, Va., and for championing student diversity within an urban environment. Moreover, high marks are earned for the schools state-of-the-art occupant security systems; these deliver particularly realistic solutions appropriate for public education.
The T.C. Williams High School project however has been most successful in its ability to unite the environmental commitment of its community at-large. Through a collaborative effort between architect and school district, T.C. Williams is an outstanding demonstration of best practices in sustainable school design and construction. The facility features environmentally savvy finishes conservation systems and landscaping, and offers numerous innovative, green teaching-tools to supplement the high school curricula. Architect and school district anticipate receiving the Silver LEED certification.
Not the first time to go to the head of the class, this is the second SE CEFPI award earned by Moseley Architects Vice President, James N. Copeland. In 2006, the firms design for Manteo Middle School, Dare County Schools, NC, won the SE CEFPIs award for Best Middle School – New Construction Design.
Moseley Architects, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a full service architectural, engineering, planning, and interior design firm with offices in Virginia and North Carolina. The firm specializes in K-12 and public safety architecture and offers extensive experience in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) projects in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
