Alexandria, Virginia, USA
The new Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, with a focus on computer science and computer engineering, will transform the greater Washington D.C. metro area into a hub for tech talent and innovation. The campus’s first building—centered on the principles of sustainability, health and wellness, green and social spaces, accessibility, connectivity, flexibility and integrated technology— promises to bring to life an inclusive setting that will help accelerate knowledge creation and solutions at the intersection of humanity and technology.
When completed, the building will provide instruction, research, office and support spaces for graduate-level programs in Computer Science and Computer Engineering, as well as select other programs. Experiential learning environments within the building will include including flexible multi-purpose areas, research and testing labs and maker spaces. Designed as a ‘flexible container’ and tested with various program configurations, it will be able to grow and adapt to the ever-evolving nature of computer science.
The form is sculpted to create a welcoming ground floor as well as dynamic interior spaces and several terraces with views of the Capital region. An adjacent ecosystem park will be designed to allow for future phasing of one or more geothermal sources such as vertical ground-coupled heat exchange, or wastewater heat exchange from the entire development which will flow through a new pump transfer station just north of the Innovation Campus. The building is anticipated to consume no fossil fuels except where required by building code, and the design team is otherwise targeting a carbon neutral outcome.
The site and building promote connectivity among campus and community. The landscape transitions from urban plaza to campus green—referencing a classic campus—with spaces for community programming, and landscape features oriented to draw people in. The building’s first floor will be activated with exhibits in the lobby and transparency toward the mixed-use development and campus green. This transparency will enable the University to put science on display to better connect with the local community and attract future students. Portions of the ground floor cladding and the landscape site walls incorporate the iconic “Hokie” stone prevalent on Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus, a symbolic link between the flagship campus and the Innovation Campus.
A magnet for talent, research and education, Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus, ideally located adjacent to Amazon’s HQ2 and other potential industry partners, is destined to expand the role of computer sciences and related disciplines in the Washington metropolitan region. By advancing technology for the human good, it redefines the land-grant institution for the 21st century.
Architects: SmithGroup
Design Team: David Johnson, Sven Shockey, Kevin Johnson, Cindy Cogil, Lori Singleton, Patty
Boyle, Patricia Halaby, Greg Mella, Ben Grobe, and Peter He
Client: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
