Awards Recognize Design, Celebration of Civil Rights History
The modernization and expansion of Dorothy Hamm Middle School in Arlington County, Virginia, has been recognized with a 2021 Platinum Design Award in the Virginia School Boards Association’s (VSBA) annual Exhibition of School Architecture. The project, designed by Quinn Evans, was also honored in the 2021 DesignArlington Awards program.
Considered Arlington County’s “most ambitious school construction project” at the time, the school opened in 1950 as Stratford Junior High School. While the building was recognized for its distinctive, International Style architecture and ambitious mid-20th century educational programming, Stratford would also play a prominent role in Virginia’s civil rights history. In February 1959, the all-White junior high school became the first public secondary school in the commonwealth to desegregate with the admission of four African American students: Ronald Deskins, Michael Jones, Lance Newman, and Gloria Thompson.
From 1978 until 2019, the building served as the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program for grades 6-12. Arlington County administrators determined that the building should be renovated and expanded to serve exclusively as a middle school. Quinn Evans was tasked with transforming the school with interdisciplinary, technology-rich classrooms; laboratories; and maker spaces to support collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking.
Quinn Evans worked closely with the Arlington County Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board to identify existing architectural elements that were vital to the building’s historical designations and compelling role in the civil rights movement. This included preserving the historic main entrance, where the four African American students first entered the building.
The project included a 40,000-square-foot addition at the southwest end of the building that connects to three of the four existing stories. This solution preserved existing views and created a vibrant new core for the school with an open, grand central stair. New spaces in the renovated structure include the expansive Family and Life Sciences Center, created in the former location of the library. A large learning suite and maker space brings technology and the arts together, while theater-style labs enhance student collaboration and promote technology, media, and information literacy.
Throughout the interior and exterior of the school, students encounter exhibits, artwork, banners, and interpretive elements that focus on the school’s important history in the civil rights era. The school was renamed to honor Dorothy Hamm, a local civil rights activist who was a leader in the federal desegregation suit that resulted in the integration of the school.
Ellen Smith, principal of Dorothy Hamm Middle School, has stated, “Everything in the building can be a learning experience. Walking down the hallways the kids can see signs talking about sustainability or how the building was designed and why it was designed this way. That’s really an important and enriching experience for kids and for teachers to use in their teaching tool kit.”
During Arlington County’s presentation of the 2021 DesignArlington Awards, county board member Takis Karantonis stated, “This ambitious expansion and renovation project modernized the building and includes numerous interpretive exhibits and artwork that focus on the school’s important history in the civil rights era.”
About Quinn Evans
Established in 1984, Quinn Evans provides services in architecture, interior design, planning, landscape architecture, urban revitalization, and historic preservation, including sustainable preservation and stewardship. The firm has more than 200 professionals in six office locations in Washington, D.C.; Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan; Madison, Wisconsin; Baltimore, Maryland; and Richmond, Virginia. Nationally ranked in its sustainability practice, Quinn Evans is a charter signatory of the AIA 2030 Challenge and a member of the Center for the Built Environment.
Quinn Evans specializes in cultural, institutional, commercial, and educational projects, including museums, historic parks, theaters, mixed-use buildings, schools and campus facilities, libraries, and civic landmarks. Current projects for the firm include the modernization of the National Air and Space Museum and the renovation of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.; renovation of the Old City Hall and Virginia Commonwealth University’s new STEM building in Richmond, Va.; and redevelopment of Baltimore’s Penn Station. Quinn Evans has also recently been selected by Ford to design the restoration and adaptive use of the landmark Michigan Central Station in Detroit. Projects in Detroit also include the restoration of the historic Wurlitzer Building, renovation of 985 Michigan Avenue for the U.S. General Services Administration, and the adaptive use of the historic Brewster Wheeler Recreation Center. For more information, visit www.quinnevans.com.
