ISSUE NO. 03 // JULY 2015
VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
AND STATE UNIVERSITY //
GOODWIN HALL,
SIGNATURE ENGINEERING BUILDING
BLACKSBURG, VA
VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC
INSTITUTE AND STATE UNIVERSITY //
GOODWIN HALL,
SIGNATURE
ENGINEERING
BUILDING
BLACKSBURG, VA
PROJECT SCOPE
SIZE // 155,000 SF
CONSTRUCTION COST // $95.2 Million
COMPLETION DATE // June 2014
SUSTAINABILITY // Pursuing LEED Silver
Goodwin Hall, Virginia Tech’s 155,000 SF signature engineering building, houses several
engineering schools in one shared interdisciplinary facility. This state-of-the-art academic
facility focuses on undergraduates, with 40 highly specialized instructional and research
laboratories to support hands-on problem solving and active learning for the Departments
of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Engineering Education,
and Mechanical Engineering. Goodwin Hall also includes the 300-seat Quillen Family
Auditorium with off-campus satellite class hosting capabilities, eight large classrooms, a
café, secluded study areas, a floating “Capsule” conference room and communications
area, as well as 150 offices for faculty, staff, and graduate students.
PROJECT TEAM
Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP (ZGF) ARCHITECT, Bard, Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers MEP ENGINEER,
Gilbane Building Company CONSTRUCTION MANAGER, SST
Planners LAB PLANNER, Rhodeside & Harwell, Inc. LANDSCAPE
ARCHITECT, Draper Aden Associates CIVIL ENGINEER, Vermeulens
Cost Consultants COST ESTIMATOR, Miller, Beam & Paganelli,
Inc. ACOUSTIC / VIBRATION, The Protection Engineering Group,
Inc. (now merged with GHD) CODES / LIFE SAFETY & SECURITY,
Erbschloe Consulting Services, Inc. HARDWARE, Heller & Metzger
PC SPECIFICATIONS, Thornton Tomasetti, Inc. STRUCTURAL
ENGINEERING, MCLA Architectural Lighting Design SPECIALTY
LIGHTING, Van Deusen & Associates VERTICAL TRANSPORTATION
Given the professionalism displayed,
responsiveness on any and all issues, and
the level of service provided by the team,
it was a pleasure to work with BR+A on
all aspects of Goodwin Hall. Thank you to
BR+A for your part in helping create this
innovative facility!
— TODD SHELTON
CAPITAL PROJECTS MANAGER
VIRGINIA TECH
A SMART INFRASTRUCTURE
BY ANTHONY PETONE, PE, LEED AP, PRINCIPAL
W
hat distinguishes a signature engineering lab building housing chemistry and engineering laboratories? Upon entering
Virginia Tech’s Goodwin Hall, one cannot miss the obvious, a 14,000-pound Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 jet engine
effortlessly hanging 15 feet above the atrium floor. Or maybe it is “the Capsule” that catches your eye. This oval-shaped, orblike structure appearing to float in the air is home to Virginia Tech’s Engineering Communications Center on the bottom floor
and the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s conference room on the top floor. Together with the Trent 1000, these two
components make an impactful first impression as soon as one steps foot into Goodwin Hall.
However, perhaps it is what you cannot see that helps to distinguish Goodwin Hall. Over 235 accelerometers laced within the
building structure measure vibrations from the movement of students and faculty, sensations caused by mechanical systems,
the settling of the structure, and environmental influence, just to name a few. The goal of these accelerometers is to not only
transform Goodwin Hall into a “living lab,” but to also make the facility the most instrumented public building in the world for
vibration monitoring, providing a test bed for cutting-edge research in the development of advanced smart infrastructures.
Virginia Tech’s Smart Infrastructure Laboratory (VT-SIL) is working to make the data and resulting research from these sensors
open source, allowing the information to be shared outside of Virginia Tech’s community. You can find out more about VT-SIL’s
work on the “living lab” at their website: http://vtsil.weebly.com/.
The signature engineering building, currently pursuing LEED Silver Certification, is brought to life by robust mechanical and
electrical systems specifically designed for the curriculum which they support. Multiple supply and exhaust air handling units
varying in size and energy recovery methods support over 40 instructional and research labs, 150 offices for faculty and
students, eight large classrooms, and a 300-seat auditorium capable of distance learning. It is home to the Terrestrial Robotics
Engineering and Controls (TREC) Laboratory (as well as the TREC robots, which are on display for passersby), the Extreme
Environments, Robotics & Materials Laboratory, the Design, Research, and Education for Additive Manufacturing Systems
(DREAMS) Laboratory, the Chang Lu Group Department of Chemical Engineering, and the Newport News Shipbuilding
Aerospace and Ocean Engineering Laboratory.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT
THIS PROJECT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Steve Montibello,
Director of Business Development
T. 617.925.8302
E. smontibello@brplusa.com
VISIT US ON THE WEB AT:
www.brplusa.com
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