1001 Prince Street

Originally constructed in 1909 as an elementary school for girls, the 1001 Prince Street building is honest, with load-bearing brick walls, heavy wooden joists, and wooden floors. The school eventually became part of the City of Alexandria’s public system, but was closed in the early 80’s. In the mid-80’s, the building was sold to private interests, renovated, and converted to office use. In 1990, Virginia Tech purchased the building and now, as in the beginning, 1001 Prince Street is a place of learning: the heart of the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center.

1001 Prince Street contains several notable WAAC Design Build projects, such as the spiral staircase, the brick cylinder, the piano balcony, and the coffee bar.

1001 Prince Street contains the WAAC’s administrative offices, faculty offices, classrooms, and studio space on its main and upper levels. 1001 also houses the double-height library, with its reading rooms accessible by the unique spiral-stacked plywood stair. Media workshops for computers, printers, laser cutters, printmaking, and darkroom facilities are on the lower level.