CBS News’ America ByDESIGN to feature Academic Building One
The magazine-style architecture program will air a segment about Virginia Tech’s new Alexandria building on Saturday, June 6.
If you happened to spot a small camera crew roaming around and outside of Virginia Tech’s new Alexandria building back in April, now you know what they were up to. Academic Building One will be featured as one of the segments in the CBS News magazine-style architecture show America ByDESIGN on the CBS News livestream at 9 p.m. Saturday, June 6. Interested viewers can also watch online via YouTube.
The segment focuses on both the design and academic purpose of Academic Building One. Host Andrés Lamos speaks with architect Sven Shockey ’96, who earned his masters in architecture in Blacksburg, and Vice President of the D.C. Area Lance Collins, as well as graduate students Justin Dildy, Noah Grahmann, and Ninia Robinos.
The segment highlights the building’s unique heliomorphic design, engineered to maximize sun exposure for the solar array and built-in photovoltaic windows. It also focuses on spaces like the dynamic Boeing Auditorium and grand entryway, the two-story drone cage, and the eighth-floor treehouse and rooftop deck overlooking the Potomac River, DCA, and Washington, D.C.
Academic Building One has earned a number of awards and recognitions since opening in February, 2025, including from the American Institute of Architects and Interior Design Magazine.
