Virginia Tech Opens First Phase of Innovation Campus

Virginia Tech opened the first building on its Innovation Campus in Alexandria in January of 2025. SmithGroup designed the 300,000-gsf facility to provide leading-edge environments for academic and research programs in computer science and engineering, as well as space for the Pamplin College of Business. Featuring specialized laboratories, a drone testing cage, and a two-story maker space, the 11-story development houses 14 classrooms, wellness venues for students and faculty, and the 3,000-sf Boeing Auditorium.

Addressing numerous sustainability goals, including the reduction of embodied carbon emissions from materials and construction, the flexible structure is expected to utilize no fossil fuels except where required by building codes. An optimized photovoltaic façade transmits abundant natural light to interior spaces while mitigating solar heat gain and glare. The selection of modular primary heating and cooling equipment allows for installation to be completed in phases to match the load required by evolving technologies. Advanced systems for geothermal energy or wastewater heat exchange will be created at an adjacent energy park that will serve the entire campus.

General contractor Whiting-Turner initiated construction in September of 2021 and completion was achieved in December of 2024. An official opening celebration is anticipated in February of 2025. Future expansion plans detail two additional academic buildings spanning 150,000 sf each.

Sasaki provided master planning services for the $1 billion Innovation Campus, which is being developed by JBG SMITH. With corporate partners including Boeing and Northrop Grumman, this dynamic ecosystem is strategically located near the nation’s capital and leading tech companies, and will anchor the first phase of the North Potomac Yard project, a mixed-use district spanning 15 acres.