While public schools may not be known for their forward-thinking designs, The Heights Building in Arlington, Va., is the exception. Merging two existing secondary schools—the H-B Woodlawn Program and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Program—into a new 180,000-sq.-ft. building housing 775 students. The building exemplifies modern architecture, energy efficiency and a sense of community that connects students with the surrounding neighborhood as well as a focus on indoor-outdoor learning.Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), in connection with Leo A. Daly, designed the school with a bold, energetic vision to support both schools’ unique student bodies—H-B Woodlawn’s visual and per

Located on the east bank of the Mississippi River, the second oldest residence hall at the University of Minnesota recently became its second largest. The 90-year-old Pioneer Hall opened its doors to the 2019 freshman and sophomore class after completing $104.5 million in renovations. Now more than 40% larger than its original size, Pioneer Hall boasts a historically sensitive, but modern design within a 252,391-sq.-ft. facility supplying 756 beds to students across five floors. This includes preserving the building’s historic Georgian Revival-style exterior, while gutting an interior that previously consisted of adjoining townhomes that were exceedingly difficult to navigate and faile

The National Aviary in Pittsburgh recently completed the installation of glass windows and doors at The Garden Room, a new glass-enclosed venue for weddings, special events and educational programs that also will serve as a showcase for energy-efficient, bird-safe glass. “The National Aviary works hard to provide the best possible care for the birds through field conservation programs and education,” said Cheryl Tracy, executive director of the National Aviary. “As we made plans for The Garden Room, it was important to us to practice these principles by selecting materials that would help keep the wild birds in our neighboring park safe.”

The new Charles Library at Temple University serves as a central point of intersection between students, faculty, staff and the surrounding community. “An early goal of the library design was for it to be an organizing element and a way to pull students to the library from multiple parts of the campus,” says Chad Carpenter, project manager, Snohetta. “The goal was also for the physical space of the library to be a collector and a warm, comforting place that everybody would understand as the center of campus.” Between the exterior and interior ceiling and wall applications, over 50,000 sq. ft. of western red cedar panels were installed. Western red cedar was chosen bec