Bishop Ireton High School
By: Jennifer Walker-Journey

Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia, has a long history of turning out talented performers among its student body. Yet, when the school prepared for a major renovation and addition to accommodate its sudden growth, the addition of an auditorium was almost an afterthought.

The Diocese of Richmond (now Arlington) opened the Catholic school in 1964 with approximately 500 boys. The school thrived through the years, and when the all-girls St. Mary's Academy in Alexandra closed its doors in 1990, Bishop Ireton become co-educational and grew substantially in enrollment. This additional growth presented the school with its first building challenge. More classrooms were needed, and the building would have to be updated for life safety and accessibility improvements.

"As part of this initial work, we performed a study of the class programs and concluded that there would be a shortage of teaching stations," said Roger Bass, AIA, president of Bass Architects. "As part of this initial work, we assisted the school in obtaining permission from the City of Alexandria to place a number of temporary portable classrooms on campus to address this need."

During this time, Bass developed a master plan that addressed the accessibility and life safety improvements, and, once permission from the city for the temporary classrooms expired, "we were asked to begin work on this project, which included not only new teaching stations, or classrooms, but a new auditorium and band practice suite."

Bass planned for 14 classrooms to be added to the school, but the focus of the addition would be the auditorium. And for good reason.

"Bishop Ireton has a long history of superb performing arts curriculum and yet they were still using the gymnasium for these functions," he said.

The 8,900-square-foot, 784-seat auditorium (complete with a full fly gallery, lighting catwalks, and a workshop for scenery construction) was designed with both the acoustics and seating sightlines in mind. Materials were chosen for their acoustical properties, including wood flooring on the stage, acoustical "clouds" at the ceiling, and wood shaping panels on the walls. The design eliminated parallel surfaces on the walls in order to avoid overlapping reverberation. And, the facility was set up with state-of-the-art lighting and AV systems.

"The overall geometry of the project was based upon the so-called 'Golden Mean' ratio," said Bass. "This proportional system was used both in plan and in elevation to create a harmonious composition. When curves or curved surfaces were called for, as in the design of the main stair, the logarithmic spiral based upon this ratio was used."

The auditorium was placed across the open end of the original U-shaped building, creating an interior courtyard.

"By finally connecting both ends of the U, circulation within the school was greatly simplified," Bass said. "It also enabled one elevator to provide legal accessibility to all levels and areas of the school."

With the auditorium design in place, the classrooms and ancillary spaces were then designed to fit within the remainder of the allowable area as laid out by the tight zoning envelope and building code limitations. This added an additional 7,000 square feet to the school.

"The expansion has enabled the student body to grow to more than 750 students in this college preparatory curriculum, and it expanded a fine arts program from a very good to a noteworthy one with a nationally acclaimed symphonic wind ensemble that performs internationally each year and an award-winning drama program," said Bishop Ireton principal Tim Hamer. "The addition of the Garwood Whaley Auditorium has given the school an unsurpassed resource for the fine arts and worship as a school community. The acoustics, the elegance, functionality of the hall – all are remarkable for a high school."

The outstanding facility also enabled the school to host a private concert by Taylor Swift concert last year.

"We have been told by many of these prestigious artists that our auditorium is among the best acoustical environments in the DC metro area," Hamer said. "The school is a resource the entire community has come to enjoy and celebrate."

Bass Architects, based in McLean, Virginia, offers a level of personalized services for a wide range of architectural projects, www.bassarchitects.com.