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Terry House opens doors to sixth formers
With their arrival for their final year at Woodberry Forest, a number of seniors, in inhabiting the school’s newest dormitory for its first year, brought a new section of campus to life, and by doing so, extended the residential life of the school in both scope and nature.
By PEYTON BOWMAN
With their arrival for their final year at Woodberry Forest, a number of seniors, in inhabiting the school's newest dormitory for its first year, brought a new section of campus to life, and by doing so, extended the residential life of the school in both scope and nature.
The new dormitory, named Terry House in honor of the late Randall B. Terry '53, was completed over a summer of intensive work, and already was housing a family and another master when the students arrived. Though they were to outfit their rooms much like any other dorm room on campus, these sixth formers found their rooms to be much larger, and organized around common rooms and study spaces instead of the typical hallways.
Placed directly behind Turner Hall, the building stands strategically in the midst of what will one day be a series of interlocking buildings and courtyards on the northeast edge of the Lawn.
A philosophy of residential education drove the project from its very inception. Not only did architect Maynard Ball '74 and the Committee on Buildings and Grounds, chaired by John Baker '66, wish to create a residential experience similar to a college dormitory, where living space tends to be organized around common areas rather than along long hallways, but they also wanted to bring faculty and their families into closer proximity with the main currents of student life.
The planners realized, moreover, that were Terry House to succeed as an agent for the school's growth, that it needed to be in close proximity to other residential halls, and ideally a part of a system of quadrangles that reached to less developed edges of the core campus.
Though several other sites were considered, such as at the southern edge of the J. Carter Walker Fine Arts Center, it became increasingly clear to the planners, aided, in their deliberations, by student focus groups, that the position behind Turner Hall would do the most to enhance life on campus. This location would also harmonize nicely with the original plan of the school laid down in the early part of the 20th century.
"My interest has always been to see that the early master plans, set down in the teens, were respected," Ball said. Ball also compared the campus to the University of Virginia's Lawn, where buildings of primary importance were, by the 20th century, placed at either end.
As it stands, Terry House buttresses and lends balance to the design of this original plan, and has also created another opportunity for the community to look outward upon Woodberry Forest's natural setting. The quadrangles associated with this and future projects provide a space where students can gather and experience the bucolic environment that surrounds the core campus and endows it with its pastoral character.
These spaces will serve as a kind of bridge between these inner and outer parts of campus, as a sort of terminal into nature.
"[It really is] a little bit of Eden out there," Ball said.
Terry House and its included apartment, the Janie and Alexander Boyd '43 Faculty Residence, mirror some of the best decorative motifs and designs of the school, and continue the Woodberry building tradition with its high-quality construction, fine mouldings, and real finishes. Ultimately, it will also allow the school flexibility in housing students when the Walker Building undergoes renovations in the near future, and ensure that the residential tradition at Woodberry Forest School will continue for many years to come.
The Long Range Planning Committee of the Board of Trustees, on which Randall B. Terry '53 served, initially saw the need such attention to the school's residential facilities; from the start, Terry approached the new building project with enthusiasm, and provided a gift from his foundation to help fund its construction. Ultimately, the Board of Trustees voted to name the building in his honor, in recognition of his service and devotion to the school. Janie and Alexander Boyd '43, from Wickenburg, AZ and Harrisburg, PA, provided the school with a major gift to make the building's faculty residence possible.
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With their arrival for their final year at Woodberry Forest, a number of seniors, in inhabiting the school's newest dormitory for its first year, brought a new section of campus to life, and by doing so, extended the residential life of the school in both scope and nature.
The new dormitory, named Terry House in honor of the late Randall B. Terry '53, was completed over a summer of intensive work, and already was housing a family and another master when the students arrived. Though they were to outfit their rooms much like any other dorm room on campus, these sixth formers found their rooms to be much larger, and organized around common rooms and study spaces instead of the typical hallways.
Placed directly behind Turner Hall, the building stands strategically in the midst of what will one day be a series of interlocking buildings and courtyards on the northeast edge of the Lawn.
A philosophy of residential education drove the project from its very inception. Not only did architect Maynard Ball '74 and the Committee on Buildings and Grounds, chaired by John Baker '66, wish to create a residential experience similar to a college dormitory, where living space tends to be organized around common areas rather than along long hallways, but they also wanted to bring faculty and their families into closer proximity with the main currents of student life.
The planners realized, moreover, that were Terry House to succeed as an agent for the school's growth, that it needed to be in close proximity to other residential halls, and ideally a part of a system of quadrangles that reached to less developed edges of the core campus.
Though several other sites were considered, such as at the southern edge of the J. Carter Walker Fine Arts Center, it became increasingly clear to the planners, aided, in their deliberations, by student focus groups, that the position behind Turner Hall would do the most to enhance life on campus. This location would also harmonize nicely with the original plan of the school laid down in the early part of the 20th century.
"My interest has always been to see that the early master plans, set down in the teens, were respected," Ball said. Ball also compared the campus to the University of Virginia's Lawn, where buildings of primary importance were, by the 20th century, placed at either end.
As it stands, Terry House buttresses and lends balance to the design of this original plan, and has also created another opportunity for the community to look outward upon Woodberry Forest's natural setting. The quadrangles associated with this and future projects provide a space where students can gather and experience the bucolic environment that surrounds the core campus and endows it with its pastoral character.
These spaces will serve as a kind of bridge between these inner and outer parts of campus, as a sort of terminal into nature.
"[It really is] a little bit of Eden out there," Ball said.
Terry House and its included apartment, the Janie and Alexander Boyd '43 Faculty Residence, mirror some of the best decorative motifs and designs of the school, and continue the Woodberry building tradition with its high-quality construction, fine mouldings, and real finishes. Ultimately, it will also allow the school flexibility in housing students when the Walker Building undergoes renovations in the near future, and ensure that the residential tradition at Woodberry Forest School will continue for many years to come.
The Long Range Planning Committee of the Board of Trustees, on which Randall B. Terry '53 served, initially saw the need such attention to the school's residential facilities; from the start, Terry approached the new building project with enthusiasm, and provided a gift from his foundation to help fund its construction. Ultimately, the Board of Trustees voted to name the building in his honor, in recognition of his service and devotion to the school. Janie and Alexander Boyd '43, from Wickenburg, AZ and Harrisburg, PA, provided the school with a major gift to make the building's faculty residence possible.
Woodberry Forest School is an exceptional private school community for high school boys in grades nine through twelve. It is one of the top boarding schools in the United States and one of the only all-boys, all-boarding schools in the country.
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Woodberry Forest admits students of any race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, and national or ethnic origin to all of the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other school-administered programs. The school is authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant students.