Virginia Tech’s Striking New Building Pays Homage To The Sun
2025 Best of Year Winner for Larger Higher Education + Shining Moment
Advanced CAD techniques shaped the 11-story, 300,000-square-foot Virginia Tech Academic Building One’s dazzlingly multifaceted form, which, guided by heliomorphic principles, aligns with the sun’s path—crucial given that the project by SmithGroup is among the nation’s first to use building-integrated photovoltaic technology, with PV embedded in the insulated glass facade. The exterior glazing creates a dappled sunlight effect and casts dynamic patterns in the human-centric interior, which hosts about 950 students in a collaborative learning environment that includes 14 classrooms and 32 huddle rooms for maximum student-faculty engagement. Cutting-edge facilities encompass a cyber-physical lab, a two-story drone-testing cage, a dedicated space for K–12 initiatives, and the Northern Virginia home of the Sanghani Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics—together with a 300-seat auditorium off the double-height lobby.
See Interior Design’s Best of Year Winners and Honorees
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PROJECT TEAM
PROJECT TEAM
DAVID JOHNSON; KEVIN JOHNSON; SVEN SHOCKEY; PETER HE; PATTY BOYLE; PATRICIA HALABY; DENNIS DAISEY.
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Projects
An Expansive Concrete Home That Dissolves Into The Landscape
A discreet concrete façade conceals a light-filled home in Karmei Yosef by Pitsou Kedem Architects, where sliding glass walls open up to the Elah Valley.
Projects
Brick Latticework Invites Sea Breezes At This Beach Hotel In Mexico
Hotel Humano by Jorge Hernández de la Garza and Plantea Estudio pairs a breezy concrete-and-brick grid with handcrafted furnishings and sunset views.
Projects
Inside A Hangzhou Workplace Stacked For E-Commerce Success
IFG’s design for the MAX Zone Technology Park Show Office in Hangzhou, China channels the energy of e-commerce.