Allowing for Growth, Going for Green: T.C. Williams High School

A suburb of the nation’s capital, Alexandria, Virginia, started to outgrow its high school several years ago, leading the school board to decide that a replacement for T.C. Williams High School was needed. The new LEED Gold high school, designed by Moseley Architects, was built on the same property as the old one, which was demolished after the new school was finished in 2007.

The building is designed to reduce potable water use by 72% compared to code. A 450,000-gallon (1.7-million-liter) cistern stores collected rainwater, which is used for irrigation, toilet flushing, and air-conditioning systems. This means that no potable water is used for irrigation or sewage conveyance; waterless urinals and water-efficient plumbing fixtures further lower potable water use.