Virginia Tech is renovating and expanding Holden Hall in Blacksburg. The existing 42,100-gsf building houses engineering programs in mining, minerals, and materials science. The project includes a complete renovation of the central structure, as well as demolition of two single-story wings and construction of a three-story wing and a four-story wing. The completed 102,000-gsf facility will feature the 1,281-sf Center for Autonomous Mining and Robotics, which will include a two-story demonstration mine with a glassed-in observation area so that students can work with materials at various depths. Designed to promote transdisciplinary collaboration, the building will provide advanced computational spaces, three 50-seat classrooms with sophisticated audiovisual technologies, and specialized labs for semiconductors, polymers, ceramics, and metals. LEED sustainable design certification will be sought for the project, which began construction in summer of 2019 and is slated for completion in winter of 2021.
