Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Virginia Tech Establishes New Facility for School of Construction

  • By Matt Jones
  • 10/21/24

Virginia Tech recently partnered with construction management firm Procon Consulting to establish the Procon Innovation Center on its campus in Blacksburg, Va., according to a news release. The facility inside the university’s newly built Hitt Hall will offer hands-on collaboration and learning opportunities for students in the Myers-Lawson School of Construction and College of Engineering. Procon Consulting’s co-founders, Mark Ilich and Kyu Jung, are Virginia Tech graduates.

The Procon Innovation Center comes with tech-focused resources including robotics and 3D concrete printers. Its purpose is to support large, student-led projects and provide an outlet for experiential and experimental learning, with the ultimate goal of creating new solutions for and approaches to building construction.

“Virginia Tech does a great job connecting students with industry, and we shared so many impactful experiences as students there, with influential professors like Yvan Beliveau and Thomas Mills, who gave us valuable hands-on real-world projects that launched our careers and inspired us to start Procon,” said Jung. “Repurposing a business plan we created in a graduate class as our foundation, we saw an opportunity to solve industry challenges with emerging technology. We want students to have those same opportunities for innovation and disruption in the industry and champion construction tech for the future.”

Procon offers construction management and custom solutions to new-build and infrastructure projects; past clients include NASA, the National Park Service, and the Architect of the Capitol, the news release reports.

“While technology has advanced quickly over the last 25 years, construction is right on the cusp of the biggest transformation the industry will see over the next 15 years, improving cumbersome processes with the adoption of innovations like artificial intelligence, robotics, building information modeling, 3D printing and more,” said Ilich. “The Procon Innovation Center will enable students to have hands-on experience in creating that transformation that shapes the future of the construction industry. The timing of the center’s opening is auspicious, as October is Careers in Construction Month and this facility will inspire students to explore what an amazing career you can have in construction.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Campus Safety Requires Using Every Resource Available

    Across the U.S., school and campus leaders are facing a security landscape that has changed dramatically over the past decade. Incidents on school property have increased in recent years, with several consecutive years setting record totals. According to analysis of data by CNN, dozens of shootings now occur on school grounds annually across K-12 and higher education environments.

  • Can AI Help Build Stronger Communities in Student Housing?

    Student housing success is shifting from operational performance to student experience, with belonging now at the center. A recent 2025 report underscores a growing emphasis on student well-being, community, and engagement, signaling that expectations now extend beyond logistics to ensure students feel supported in their living environments. AI is enabling that shift by reducing administrative workload and giving teams more time to focus on meaningful student engagement.

  • Embry-Riddle Completes Construction on Research, Lab Facility

    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Fla., recently announced the end of construction on a new research and lab facility on campus. The Center for Aerospace Engineering II (CAT II) will support aerospace research and technology development and broke ground last summer.

  • AAADM Announces Building Safety Month Initiatives

    The American Association of Automatic Door Manufacturers (AAADM) recently announced its support of Building Safety Month as declared by the International Code Council (ICC), according to a news release.