Virginia Commonwealth University to Build New $121M STEM Education Facility

RICHMOND, VA – The Virginia state budget recently signed by Gov. Ralph Northam includes funding for Virginia Commonwealth University to construct a $121-million, 168,000-square-foot, six-floor building dedicated to science, technology, engineering, and math education on the Monroe Park Campus.

Virginia Commonwealth University STEM building

The building will house lab, classroom, and office space for the College of Humanities and Sciences and will expand existing lab space, facilitate innovative and flexible teaching methods, provide students with instructional and study spaces, and free up space in other College of Humanities and Sciences buildings to better serve students and faculty.

It will include 34 teaching labs; the Math Exchange, an innovative facility for math instruction; a Science Learning Center; two large-capacity classrooms; computer labs; and large- and small-capacity flexible classrooms. It will feature instructional wet and dry labs and classrooms for teaching chemistry, biology, physics, math, psychology, and kinesiology.

The building will be designed by Ballinger and Quinn Evans Architects and constructed by Hourigan.

Featured

  • Academy of Classical Education Breaks Ground in Louisiana

    Charter Schools USA (CSUSA) recently announced the groundbreaking of a new public charter school in Covington, La., according to a news release. The Academy of Classical Education at Covington will enroll students in grades K–8 and is scheduled for completion in August 2026, just in time for the new school year.

  • Texas Recruitment

    Texas Recruitment

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The University of Texas at Austin's Texas Recruitment has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of Renovation.

  • Minnesota District Starts Construction on Early Childhood Learning Center

    Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools in Sauk Rapids, Minn., recently announced that construction has begun on a new early childhood learning center and a new outdoor activities complex, according to a news release.

  • abstract illustration of school gym

    How the Gymnasium Can Serve as a Model for Learning Space Design

    Multipurpose gyms work because flexibility was built into the brief from the start, not retrofitted later. The same logic applies to academic spaces.