UVA Chemistry Building

This six-year-long project transformed an aging, 52-year-old building into a 21st century learning environment that allows for a higher level of collaboration and interaction between faculty, researchers and students and a greater capacity to support leading-edge research and teaching strategies. This project set out to give new life to a core laboratory building at the University of Virginia by replacing the MEP systems and refreshing the architectural systems with a priority on occupant health and safety while minimizing environmental impact.

These changes include right-sized teaching labs, refreshed research labs, new active-learning classrooms, informal collaboration areas, and completely modernized MEP systems that seek to reduce the building's energy consumption by half, or better. By creating a new linking stair hall and bringing classroom and collaborative areas to the lower floors, the new Chemistry Building breaks down traditional barriers between the Chemistry Department's teaching mission and its research enterprise.