Say goodbye to traditional lecture halls and hello to active learning spaces. Virginia Tech’s New Classroom Building advances the University’s mission to “invent the future” by profoundly transforming the academic learning environment. Creating spaces that encourage team-based, investigative discovery, the sustainable facility revolutionizes the way professors teach and students learn.

The New Classroom is brimming with experiential spaces. As you enter the building, you’re greeted by a grand staircase cascading through its core. Scanning your surroundings, you can see different types of active learning spaces, from small study nooks and soft-seating areas to impromptu bar-height workspaces. As you walk down the corridor, you are met with technology-infused meeting areas and classrooms with glass walls, highlighting team-based learning on display.

Walk into one of the two SCALE-UP rooms to find a sophomore-level biology class with students solving real-world science problems. Or, stop by one of the many “classatories,” a smaller classroom between two wet labs that provides a dedicated space for computation and write-up. Here, you’ll find students working in several disciplines – biology, chemistry, physics – within a single class period. These new learning spaces support multiple teaching methods and allow students to take a more active role in learning.