Built in 1937, Waynesboro High School occupies a prominent site on Main Street near the center of this small industrial city in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Today, the school remains an important civic landmark and the site of many public events.

Following a Master Planning Study completed by VMDO Architects in 1997, Waynesboro Public Schools undertook a selective renovation and modest expansion of the high school. A new student commons and cafeteria addition has become a focal point of the school and the project. This central gathering space, constructed of a steel frame and inflected glass curtainwall, affords views and direct access to the public realm of the football stadium. As a backdrop to athletic events, the new commons replaces a visually chaotic series of service roads. This modern addition is clearly identifiable as an important public place within the school, and its character contrasts intentionally with the building’s more formal, neo-traditional front facade.

The approximately 10,000 square foot expansion allows for additional instructional space within the school. Administrative offices have been relocated from a peripheral to a central position at the juncture of the school’s two primary wings. This move makes the administrative offices directly accessible from the building’s ‘symbolic’ as well as the ‘functional’ front doors.

Built in 1937, Waynesboro High School occupies a prominent site on Main Street near the center of this small industrial city in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Today, the school remains an important civic landmark and the site of many public events.

Following a Master Planning Study completed by VMDO Architects in 1997, Waynesboro Public Schools undertook a selective renovation and modest expansion of the high school. A new student commons and cafeteria addition has become a focal point of the school and the project. This central gathering space, constructed of a steel frame and inflected glass curtainwall, affords views and direct access to the public realm of the football stadium. As a backdrop to athletic events, the new commons replaces a visually chaotic series of service roads. This modern addition is clearly identifiable as an important public place within the school, and its character contrasts intentionally with the building’s more formal, neo-traditional front facade.

The approximately 10,000 square foot expansion allows for additional instructional space within the school. Administrative offices have been relocated from a peripheral to a central position at the juncture of the school’s two primary wings. This move makes the administrative offices directly accessible from the building’s ‘symbolic’ as well as the ‘functional’ front doors.

A spacious new entrance and lobby at the rear of the school replaces the previous narrow, remote and difficult-to-supervise student entry through a stairwell. In addition to accommodating students on a daily basis, the new lobby provides generous public access for assemblies and events in the new commons as well as the gymnasium. Pre-cast concrete piers mark the new entry and make it architecturally consistent with principal entrances to the original building.

Deteriorated and drafty wood double-hung, painted steel and galvanized windows throughout the facility have been replaced with new thermal-break clear anodized aluminum windows. While improving energy efficiency and reducing maintenance, the new windows allow for cohesion, aesthetically linking the original building and three eras of additions with a common element.

In addition to these larger improvements, wall, floor and ceiling finishes have been selectively upgraded throughout the school. Toilet rooms, locker rooms and athletic spaces were extensively renovated. Heating, plumbing and electrical systems were comprehensively upgraded; central air conditioning, two-way intercom and fire suppression systems have been installed throughout. While some desired upgrades await future implementation, Waynesboro High School is a much-improved facility, equipped to serve its community and its young people for years to come.

A spacious new entrance and lobby at the rear of the school replaces the previous narrow, remote and difficult-to-supervise student entry through a stairwell. In addition to accommodating students on a daily basis, the new lobby provides generous public access for assemblies and events in the new commons as well as the gymnasium. Pre-cast concrete piers mark the new entry and make it architecturally consistent with principal entrances to the original building.

Deteriorated and drafty wood double-hung, painted steel and galvanized windows throughout the facility have been replaced with new thermal-break clear anodized aluminum windows. While improving energy efficiency and reducing maintenance, the new windows allow for cohesion, aesthetically linking the original building and three eras of additions with a common element.

In addition to these larger improvements, wall, floor and ceiling finishes have been selectively upgraded throughout the school. Toilet rooms, locker rooms and athletic spaces were extensively renovated. Heating, plumbing and electrical systems were comprehensively upgraded; central air conditioning, two-way intercom and fire suppression systems have been installed throughout. While some desired upgrades await future implementation, Waynesboro High School is a much-improved facility, equipped to serve its community and its young people for years to come.

“I have always found VMDO Architects to be responsive and responsible in fulfilling their architectural responsibilities. Specifically, I feel they have a unique talent of being able to incorporate suggestions and ideas that are given by lay individuals into their designs and implementations.”

– Dr. T. Lowell Lemons Former Superintendent, Waynesboro Public Schools

Client: Waynesboro Public Schools

Location: Waynesboro, VA

Discipline: Middle & High Schools

Completion: 2002

Size: 7,675 SF Addition and 142,900 SF Renovation

Key Team Members

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