The new home of Villanova University’s engineering programs illustrates innovative solutions to the architectural, pedagogical, and outdated-facility challenges that often hamper advanced research in growing programs in Material Science, Autonomous Vehicles, and Advanced Energy Analysis. Session leaders profile the expansion of Drosdick Hall, the integration of modern labs in a gothic architecture building with low floor-to-floor heights, and how to maintain building operations during construction. They set out new space allocation metrics and utilization benchmarks, successful stakeholder communication strategies, and a building feature set conducive to collaboration and recruitment initiatives.