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

  • textured paper collage shows a school building on fire as a fire truck sprays water into the flames

    Why a Fire Loss Is More than Flames

    We've all seen what fire damage can do to a property, but the types of damage building owners often encounter after a fire loss can exceed expectations. Having full awareness of the different forms of damage properties can sustain helps owners respond faster, reduce continued damage, and get back on the road to recovery in short order.

  • South Texas K–12 District Debuts Region’s First Electric Bus Fleet

    The Valley View Independent School District in Pharr, Texas, recently announced a partnership with Highland Electric Fleets to launch the district’s—and the region’s—first fleet of all-electric school buses, according to a news release.

  • UCNJ Launches $30M Modernization of Physical Education Center

    The Union College of Union County (UCNJ) in Cranford, N.J., recently broke ground on a new $30-million modernization project for its Physical Education Center (PECK), according to a news release. The college partnered with DIGroup Architecture for the project’s design, transitioning the existing 42,000-square-foot structure into a campus hub for student athletics and campus life.

  • Geometric abstract school illustration

    How Design Shapes Learning and Success

    Can the color of a wall, the curve of a chair, or the hum of fluorescent lights really affect how a student learns? More schools are beginning to think so.

Digital Edition