What's in it: Building for the next generation
Construction and renovation create innovative spaces for living and learning on the Blacksburg campus
Hitt Hall and War Memorial Hall—one a new addition and the other an up- grade to a historical fixture on Blacksburg’s campus—are open for the next generation of Hokies.
Hitt Hall is a cutting-edge facility designed to provide expanded space for the Myers-Lawson School of Construction and add critical dining and academic areas. It features state-of-the- art innovation and discovery spaces tailored for construction education and research, including the unique two-story Procon Innovation Center. The center is designed to support large-scale, projects and collaboration.
“We are excited to see Hitt Hall become the expanded home to our building construction and construction engineering and management programs,” said Julie Ross, the Paul and Dorothea Torgersen Dean of Engineering. “This advanced facility will allow the College of Engineering to partner with industry in the development of new technologies and approaches that have the potential to transform construction while supporting graduate student research projects and experiential learning.”
Video: Inside Hitt Hall
Hitt Hall also boasts flexible general classrooms and open collaboration zones for the university community.
A highlight of Hitt Hall is Perry Place, a two-story dining facility that introduces eight new dining venues, including a full-service Chick-fil-A. It encompasses a variety of global cuisines that fulfill long-time student requests: all-day breakfast from Solarex, barbecue from Smoke, an Asian street food franchise called Rambutan, a Mediterranean inspired shop called Fresh & Feta, a classic Italian shop Veloce, a high-energy coffee spot called AMP, and a fresh gourmet sandwich shop called Trax Deli.
Perry Place is Virginia Tech’s most sustainability-focused grab-and-go dining facility to date. For example, Grab N’ Gobble parfaits and fruit cups are served in 100 percent compostable clear containers, sandwiches are wrapped in BPI-certified paper made and manufactured in the United States, and all napkins, straws, cups, lids, and silverware are compostable. Even staff T-shirts are crafted from 100 percent sustainably sourced cotton and printed with solvent-free inks.
War Memorial Hall—built in 1924 as a tribute to soldiers who died in World War I — hadn’t undergone an extensive renovation process on a capital scale since 1975.
“I used to go there to play racquetball a lot and I played intramural basketball there, but the building was always hot and felt like you were walking back into the 1970s,” said Travis Jessee ’05, interim assistant vice president for design and construction at Virginia Tech. “But we went because it was the largest rec facility on campus.”
ALUMNI ACCESS
Virginia Tech alumni are eligible t o purchase mem- berships for access t o fitness facilities, including War Memorial Hall.
Jessee has had several roles in the renovation of War Memorial Hall, and he was part of the conversations around the future of the building. He said faculty who have been at Virginia Tech for many years will appreciate the transformation, and students who are new to campus will be excited about all the building has to offer.
“War Memorial Hall has all new, historically accurate windows for the head house [the front of the building], we’ve removed partitions to make the gymnasium space more open, and the lower level was completely demolished and rebuilt to provide modern cardio workout space,” said Jessee. “It’s a very handsome building, and I’m proud of the improvements.”
The facility houses research space for the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise in addition to classroom space. This newly renovated research space will allow for clinical researchers to have a state-of-the art facility to conduct their innovative work.
Other features include:
- Wet classroom for aquatic and safety instruction
- 7,000-square-foot table tennis space
- Basketball courts with new hardwood floors
- Modern locker rooms and bathrooms that include family changing rooms and an all-gender restroom
- Centralized air conditioning
- New plumbing and electrical systems
- Energy-efficient LED lighting
War Memorial Hall is also the home of Recreational Sports. Hokies will have access to exercise classes, as well as specialized spaces, including a boxing room, two rooms for dance organizations, a mind/body studio, yoga studio, spin studio, one squash court, and five racquetball courts. With this renovated space, the amount of space dedicated to strength training for Hokies tripled.