Old Donation School
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Overview
Old Donation School is a 225,785-square-foot educational facility developed for Virginia Beach City Public Schools to bring multiple gifted education programs together in a purpose-built environment serving advanced learners. Designed around a “Buildings That Teach” philosophy, the school extends learning beyond traditional classrooms through Think Tanks, collaborative circulation areas, outdoor learning spaces, exposed building systems, and sustainability features that allow the facility itself to become part of the educational experience. Thompson Consulting Engineers provided mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design, Construction Administration, and Commissioning services for the project, integrating high-performance building systems with the school’s sustainability-focused design. These systems support energy efficiency, occupant comfort, and long-term operational performance while contributing to a LEED Gold-certified learning environment designed specifically for gifted education.
Challenges
- Designing building systems to support a unique instructional model serving elementary and middle school grade levels within a single facility.
- Coordinating infrastructure across academic wings, collaborative learning areas, and specialized spaces including a gymnasium, auditorium, and media center.
- Delivering reliable, energy-efficient systems capable of supporting long-term school operations.
Goals
- Provide a modern learning environment tailored to advanced academic and gifted education programs.
- Enhance comfort, safety, and energy performance through high-efficiency building systems.
- Support Virginia Beach City Public Schools’ long-term facilities goals with durable, maintainable infrastructure.
Project Team
- Owner: Virginia Beach City Public Schools
- Architect: RRMM
- Structural: Speight Marshall Francis
- Contractor: McKenzie Construction
Results
- Successfully delivered a modern educational facility serving Virginia Beach’s citywide gifted education program.
- Supported collaborative learning through a campus layout centered around shared commons and learning spaces.
- Provided efficient, reliable infrastructure designed to support advanced academic programming.
