A better built environment
The Virginia Tech-led Coalition for Smart Construction integrates science, engineering, and technology into construction through collaborative research and development among innovative companies.
The need to address demand for buildings, and their affordability, has been a topic of reports, discussions, research, and even testimony for industry, academia, and government. And recent economic pressures such as volatile supply chains, labor shortages, code and regulatory changes, new expectations for resiliency, and stubborn inflation have only made the issue more complex.
Fortunately, transformative technologies exist to help address it. Advanced materials, automation, and additive manufacturing are examples of rapidly maturing methods with the potential to transform construction for the better, if only their adoption can be coordinated at large scale within an industry that has been slow to embrace them so far.
Recognizing both the challenge and the potential to address it, Virginia Tech connects its extensive research ecosystem with forward-looking construction firms, public agencies, and workforce partners through the Coalition for Smart Construction.
The coalition’s work as a hub for research, innovation, and talent development is well underway, with industry-sponsored pilot projects in place and 40,000 square feet of innovation lab space under construction in Falls Church. Its work to unite companies, academia, and public stakeholders around a shared agenda recently took another step forward with the appointment of Andrew McCoy as interim managing director.
Uniquely ready
McCoy worked in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry for more than a decade before joining the faculty of Virginia Tech’s Myers-Lawson School of Construction, which is part of the university’s College of Engineering. Along with serving as the Beliveau Professor of Building Construction, he is associate director for research and innovation for the Myers-Lawson school.
Since transitioning to work in academia, McCoy prioritized applied research and stayed connected to industry to an unusual degree. For example, he serves as director of the Virginia Center for Housing Research, whose mission, in part, is to apply innovative technologies to housing problems. His hands on work as a leader or member of project teams has been recognized by Richmond BizSense, the Home Builders Association of Virginia, and Habitat for Humanity International.
In 2025, McCoy was called as an expert witness by the U.S. Congress to a hearing titled “Expanding Choice and Increasing Supply: Housing Innovation in America.” That year, he also served on the Virginia governor-elect’s transition team on housing policy. In 2026, he was appointed to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee and the U.S. Government Accounting Office's expert panel on housing construction innovation policies.
Within Virginia Tech, the Coalition for Smart Construction is administratively housed in the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science.
“Andrew’s track record of cross-disciplinary collaboration and partnership-driven research directly aligns the coalition’s mission to accelerate innovation through industry-based research, pilot projects, and workforce innovation,” said Stefan Duma, who directs the institute and is the Harry C. Wyatt Professor of Engineering and a University Distinguished Professor. “The coalition represents a new model for industry transformation — one built on collaborative research and development to integrate science, engineering, and technology directly into how buildings are designed, manufactured, and delivered. Rather than treating innovation as a downstream add-on, the coalition embeds advanced materials research, digital technologies, automation, and data-driven decision-making into the full lifecycle of construction.”
McCoy has collaborated with a wide variety of partners to win multiple competitive research grants over the course of his academic career, has been recognized for excellence integrating technology into the classroom environment, and is the lead author of numerous books, peer-reviewed journal articles, and conference papers about the adoption, diffusion, and commercialization of technologies in the construction industry.
“The Coalition for Smart Construction is a unique opportunity to transform construction into a technology-driven, innovation-focused sector,” said McCoy. “We consistently hear from industry partners that they are eager to innovate but struggling to make that happen on their own. Construction is a complex process that integrates fragmented supply chains, dynamic staffing and logistics, regulations, workplace safety, complex financing and long-term operations, all on top of the actual process of building itself. Technologies exist or are emerging to help in all these areas, ranging from AI [artificial intelligence] to advanced materials. Virginia Tech has experts in all these areas. I can’t wait to help our university, and our partners, to collaborate on new ways to drive change that will benefit them directly.”
Cross-discipline connection
The coalition leverages Virginia Tech’s expertise across multiple colleges and fields relevant to construction, including faculty based in Blacksburg and Northern Virginia. Its main offices and research lab will occupy 40,000 square feet on the ground floor of HITT Contracting’s new headquarters building in Falls Church, scheduled to open in early 2027.
“Virginia Tech has long been a strong pipeline of talent for HITT and a true partner in advancing research that moves our industry forward,” said HITT Contracting CEO Kim Roy. “We’re excited to support the Coalition for Smart Construction taking shape and a lab that will help train and inspire the next generation of builders. By meaningfully connecting academia and industry, Virginia Tech is strengthening our ability to solve real-world challenges and build the workforce of the future. I’ve known Andrew for many years, and I’m excited for his leadership in this important investment.”
McCoy said his first plans as acting director are to conduct a series of interviews with Virginia Tech faculty members across multiple programs as well as industry leaders across numerous companies, to assess needs, opportunities, and challenges for the coalition, including how best to make use of the 40,000-square-foot space in Falls Church.
“We look forward to Andrew contributing his extensive academic and industry experience during this crucial phase of coalition development,” said Julie Ross, Virginia Tech’s executive vice president and provost. “His leadership will ensure we have a robust set of industry partners, pipeline of research projects, and the capacity and expertise to quickly scale up once the Falls Church facility comes online.”
The coalition has multiple pilot projects underway, supported by seed grants from the Hitt Family Foundation, and a call for proposals for a new round of pilot funding with industry partners is imminent.
The Coalition for Smart Construction exemplifies Virginia Tech’s approach to building transdisciplinary teams to partner with industry, foundations, other stakeholders who are looking to address seize market opportunities or address major problems industry and society.
“It’s exciting to see the Coalition for Smart Construction take shape and poise Virginia Tech to drive the construction industry into the future,” said Brandy Salmon, the university’s vice president for innovation and partnerships, whose team works to help the coalition and many other partnership initiatives take shape. “This effort joins a constellation of assets all across Virginia Tech’s innovation network to meet partners where they are. Whether it’s mobilizing teams of faculty experts in areas such as advanced materials, power systems, 3D printing, AI, digital-twin technology, or delivering new sources of talent ready to contribute, Virginia Tech stands ready to partner with purpose.”
