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| Loudoun County High School, c.Fall 2008 |
Loudoun County High School having two different types of windows on its front facade was a deliberate choice by the architect. I don't know why it was chosen, but I do know that it helps to tell a visual narrative they created for the building.
Architects sometimes like to manufacture storied pasts into their 100% newly-created buildings. These moments are more commonly found in the top-tier theme parks, but it sometimes enters the real world.
Take LCHS. With countless renovations and expansions, it has layer upon layer of actual architectural narratives. But on the original 1954 layer, the front facade had its own story to tell. It's short and sweet:
A Georgian-style building was built in the 18th century. Then in the 1950's, extensions were added on the sides. There you go!
Of course, if you really pay attention, you can see this is not its real history. No 18th century building is going to have a concrete foundation. The bricks' color and age in the Georgian section match the 1950's wings. And where are the chimneys, how would this building stay warm in the winter?! The facade is playing a gag on us. It knows what it truly is, we know what it truly is, but it's still going to put on the masquerade.
So how can you find this narrative?
The Roof & Molding
Building Jutting Out
Cornerstone Placement
The Windows
Roof & Molding
Pretty straight-forward. The 18th century section has a gable roof and exterior molding, very common for that time period. The 1950's sections have flat roofs and metal plating capping the exterior. When viewing the school off-center, the ends of the gable roof make that section stand out as a separate entity from the extensions.
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| Roof dichotomy on LCHS |
Building Jutting Out
On a typical square building built in one go, the facade would all be uniform. When an expansion occurs, new and old sections don't always line up perfectly. To support LCHS's story, the Georgian section's facade is pulled a foot forward from the 1950's-style wings. This gives prominence to the Georgian section and a small visual clue that the sides were most likely added later.
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Georgian section jutting forward
(Missing waterspout section because molding
was under renovation, c. 2009/2010) |
Cornerstone Placement
Where does the cornerstone go? Like its name suggests, on the corner. Where is Loudoun County's cornerstone? On the corner of the Georgian section, where the wall juts out a foot. This places it in the middle of the front facade, far away from the actual corner of the building, but exactly where it should be in the story concocted.
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Cornerstone on LCHS - 1953 is the year construction started
on the building. |
The Windows
Ah, back to the windows. As I've previously stated, each window matches the section it is in. The Georgian section has colonial-inspired window design. The 1950's windows were all modern windows.
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| Window differences! From Lord Loudoun 1962 yearbook |
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This original story has now been compromised by the new windows just installed. Here's the new narrative created:
A Georgian-style building was built in the 18th century. Then in the 1950's, extensions were added on the sides. The windows on the extensions matched the older style, albeit wider, but the rest of details didn't try to blend in with the original section.
This story is no longer short nor sweet. It's kind of confusing. You can't carefully look at the facade and discover this story anymore. The story worked because everything you needed to know was right there in front of you and nothing contradicted it. Now, you have to have the information that the windows were changed to understand the facade's original narrative. It's very muddled. The new windows have nullified the narrative.
In order for this narrative to return, the windows have to be replaced with ones matching the 1950's design.
LCHS Windows Saga:
Windows Without Historic Integrity - Loudoun County High School
Windows Without Visual Integrity - Loudoun County High School
Windows Without Business Integrity - Loudoun County High School
Enjoy other LCHS Articles from the same author:
