Renovation, construction projects continue this summer on campus
Every summer, extensive renovation and new construction projects take place on the Virginia Tech campus, resulting in an enhanced teaching, learning, and research environment for faculty and students when they return for the fall semester.
The following projects are under construction this summer:
Cowgill Hall renovation
Beginning in June, Cowgill Hall is closing for a one year for scheduled renovations. The School of Architecture + Design will relocate to the Surge Building while renovations are made. New thermopane glazing will be installed at Cowgill Hall to replace the existing single pane glazing. In addition, the bathrooms will be brought up to code and new fixtures, tile and lighting will be installed. In addition, electrical, lighting, heating and air-conditioning systems will be upgraded.
Burruss Hall renovation
College of Architecture and Urban Studies offices in Burruss Hall will be closed while an electrical and ventilation systems overhaul is completed. Interior design students and faculty will move into the renovated space in August. College support offices will also move back into Burruss in August.
Henderson Hall renovation
Renovations to Henderson Hall this summer include increasing the existing Art Amory and adding a new Cyber Arts Creative Research Lab. During this renovation, 10 faculty, art history classes, and painting and student studios will be temporarily relocated.
Henderson will be re-designed with a new visual communication design space, VDS4 Studio and art history space with faculty offices in 2009. Also, theater arts and music will gain valuable space in this renovation uniting the School of the Arts. A new experimental theatre is also part of the Henderson Hall renovation.
The Department of Art and Art History is increasing the Art Armory by 1,800 square feet with a new digital lab and space for drawing classes and Art Foundations. Art Foundations will be centered here, along with Art and Art History administrative offices, including the addition of three new offices.
In addition, the New Cyber Arts Creative Research Lab will be a 2,000-square-foot renovation for Art and Art History and Collaborative for Creative Technologies in Art and Design. When completed in the summer of 2007, the Cyber Studio in conjunction with the new Animation Lab and Digital Sound Studio will be working on the 2009 Art Museum of Western Virginia Digital Exhibition for the new Art Museum.
Classroom renovations
Eight major classroom renovations are scheduled this summer in keeping with the University’s Classroom Master Plan Project initiated by the Office of the Provost and the Office of the University Architect. Major renovations include new ceilings, lighting, flooring, walls and technology installations and upgrades. Rooms scheduled for major renovations this summer include seven lecture halls (190 Holden Hall, 113 and 129 McBryde Hall, 30 Pamplin Hall, 110 and 120 Randolph Hall, and 210 Robeson Hall) and one standard room with moveable desks, 1760 Litton-Reaves Hall. In addition, minor renovations are being made to 2001 Pamplin Hall and 116 Robeson Hall.
Surge Building update
The University has assembled a 45,000 square-foot surge space building to temporarily house academic departments while other buildings are being renovated. Architecture academic programs moved into the Surge Building in the spring of 2007 while renovations are made to Cowgill Hall. The Surge Building will be used for 15 years before it is disassembled and stored for future use.
ICTAS update
The Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Sciences (ICTAS) will soon operate in three buildings on the campus of Virginia Tech. The ICTAS Nanoscale Characterization and Fabrication Lab is housed in the Corporate Research Center and is anticipating a grand opening in September. This facility will house $5 million worth of research equipment, furthering research in nanotechnology.
ICTAS I, a 98,000 square-foot building, is being constructed on Stanger Street and should be complete sometime in 2008. Currently, ICTAS II is in the design phase and the 77,000 square-foot building will most likely be constructed near the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute.
The Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Sciences was established in 1997 and is designed to enable and engage in path-finding and inter-disciplinary research at the intersection of engineering, science, biology and humanities.
Bishop-Favrao Hall construction
Bishop-Favrao Hall is currently under construction with an anticipated completion date of fall 2008. The 31,600 square foot building resides on Perry Street. Once complete, the Department of Building Construction and the new Myers-Lawson School of Construction will occupy the building.
Life Sciences I Building
A new building is currently under construction on Washington Street adjacent to Litton-Reaves Hall. The three story building will consist of more than 72,000 square feet, with an estimated construction cost of $28 million.
Litton-Reaves Hall exterior repairs
Exterior structural repairs will be made to Litton-Reaves Hall. The repairs will be made primarily to the exterior brick and limestone façade, totaling $2 million dollars in construction costs.
Duck Pond retrofit project
I keeping with the University’s sustainability initiatives, a concrete cut-off wall along the crest of the existing spillway between the upper and lower Duck Pond will be constructed to eliminate the existing seepage and all vegetative cover to stabilize the spillway and function as a hydraulic relief during storm events.
Steam tunnel upgrade
Effective immediately through the fall of 2008, the University’s power plant steam distribution system will be upgraded, allowing for more capacity and creating a more efficient steam system on campus. This project will be completed in two phases, primarily in times of warm weather when the power plant steam system is not being utilized. The project involves replacing the eight inch high pressure steam piping and condensate return piping to enable expansion on the southwest area of campus.
The majority of piping that will be replaced is in steam tunnels; however, a portion will be in a new box conduit system under the sidewalk along Washington Street. The new piping will increase the capacity of the existing steam distribution system.
Traffic and parking changes affect students, faculty and staff
A new traffic signal will be installed at the intersection of Southgate Drive and Duck Pond Drive. The signalization is a joint project with the Virginia Department of Transportation and the university.
In addition to the new traffic signal on campus, five parking lots will be upgraded this summer. The Engel parking lot, located off West Campus Drive, will be gated. This project consists of installing a parking gate, island and lot configuration to provide secured access to the lot and improve vehicular movements.
Handicap parking spaces, bus parking, pedestrian sidewalks and entrance improvements will be added to the English Field parking lot. The Architectural Annex parking lot will receive additional parking spaces, improved pedestrian sidewalks and access as well as improvements to the storm water management system.
The Fleet Services parking lot will also be reconfigured and expanded between the lower western end of the existing parking lot and the adjacent Southgate Center parking lot. Virginia Department of Transportation is resurfacing the Perry Street No. 3 parking lot and the Derring parking lot this summer.
