St. Stephen's and St. Agnes Upper School Renovation

  • Client
    Orr Associates Inc.
  • Location
    Alexandria, VA
  • Size
    46,000-SF
Student Commons
Awards
2024 WBC Craftsmanship Award, Sitework

Project Brief

At St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School, the community of students and families has continued to evolve and grow. The school made a plan to invest in their future by revitalizing their Upper School to accommodate the education world's many innovations. They trusted DAVIS to build a new wing that fosters collaboration and connection.

Our project team completely transformed the existing building, managing a selective demolition and making room for a 46,000-SF addition, as well as a new dining facility, science labs, art studios, classrooms and outdoor seating space. The Upper School's new wing also includes a Student Commons for students to congregate, share a meal and more.

Science Lab
Student Commons
Exterior shot of a school

A Space for the Future

This project included the demolition of the existing dining area and science wind and the construction of a new addition, which replaced aging dining, kitchen, and servery spaces with a state-of-the-art, two-story dining facility, featuring expansive glass walls that offer southwest-facing views of the campus. The new servery and kitchen were designed to efficiently serve the existing student and faculty population while providing flexibility for future expansion. The space now functions beyond traditional meal service, accommodating before- and after-school services as well as after-hours events.

The project also included a significant enhancement to the Art and Science departments, incorporating:

  • 2D & 3D studio spaces, a shop, and a kiln room, providing students with cutting-edge creative resources.
  • Eight new science labs and a flexible lab, fostering hands-on experimentation and interdisciplinary learning.

Additionally, a previously underutilized central exterior courtyard was transformed into a two-story, light-filled central commons, which now serves as a multi-purpose space for dining, student collaboration, and large school-wide assemblies.