John Handley High School

John Handley High School Winchester Public Schools

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Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

Project Overview The Handley High School building was conceived with powerful progressive education ideals at its core.

The City of Winchester, Virginia recognized in 1923 how remarkable it was to have the only privately endowed public school in Virginia. Designed by well-known Cleveland architect Walter McCornack,the Handley High School building was conceived with powerful progressive education ideals at its core. The 11th grade class of 1998 helped put the school on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Handley legacy focuses on the heritage of the school as central civic institution and a focus of regional programs and pageantry. The majestic landscape and powerful facade of the school, in many ways, make an amazing “educational promise” to the surrounding community. Despite a wealth of dedicated educators over its eighty years, the school building fell into disrepair and suffered from a series of unfortunate additions---including a 1978 expansion that infilled three of its signature “court” spaces with windowless classrooms. As a result, as one entered through the front portico in 2003, the school no longer delivered on that promise.

Winchester Public Schools renewed its commitment to the city’s only high school by accommodating new enrollment growth with a multi-phased, addition and renovation project (all executed while the school was occupied). The design approach preserved all of the building’s remaining historic elements and carefully restored them with the aid of tax credits.

For those spaces that had been destroyed or compromised, an inventive educational program sparked a series of new interventions. The original Gymnasium would become a Library and Media Center; the “Play Court” would become a new Student Commons; finally, the “Nature Study Court” would become a Student Union / Café, providing students with desirable dining options. In addition, a new Center for Science and Technology was carefully woven into the building’s historic grain.

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Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

John Handley’s Track + Athletic Field

Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

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Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

Renovated + Additional Spaces

1960’s Additions

1923 Building

1970’s Additions + Infill (Removed)

Before

Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

Science Wing

New 38,000 SF Rooftop Addition

Student Commons Library / Media

Student Union Cafe

1960’s Additions (Renovated)

1923 Building (Rehabilitated)

After

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Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

Student Commons

Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

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Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

Dining Commons

Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

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Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

Patsy Cline Theater

Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

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Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

Campus Floor Plans

2nd Floor Plan

1st Floor Plan

Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

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Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

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Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

Winchester City Schools John Handley High School

“ For 87 years, members of the community have looked to the west and found in that skyline the iconic image of the cupola- the columns, the steps and thought about all that they represent- the commitment to public education, excellence in teaching and learning, character through sportsmanship, and the nurture and development of our most valuable resource- our students. For our students, this is the place, the very spot, where they walk into liand most of the time we are working to let them know what is going on in the world today and that we can make it a better place.

D o u g Jo iner 1 0 T H Pr inc ipa l

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VMDO Architects vmdo.com | 434.296.5684 200 E Market St Charlottesville, VA 22902 1200 18th Street NW Suite 700 Washington, DC 20036

For more information on K-12 Education work please contact: Bob Moje, FAIA, LEED AP moje@vmdo.com Wyck Knox, AIA, LEED AP knox@vmdo.com