VIRGINIA TECH

SATELLITE STUDENT UNION

BLACKSBURG, VA 2ND PLACE COMPETITION ENTRY 1983

The site was an open area extending from one side of the nondescript Cogwill Plaza through the space between Pamplin Hall, a classroom building, and Burruss Hall, the neo-Gothic classroom/ auditorium building which in turn fronted onto the Oval Drill Field at the campus center.

Neither Burruss Hall, with a closed ground floor, nor the architecture school’s Cowgill Hall, separated from the plaza by a moat, had an active relationship with the plaza, something we saw as being imperative for the success of this new ‘center at the edge’.

The new building serves as an entry point for the campus from commuter parking, and also as a bridge between Burrus and Pamplin Hall classrooms. The siting of the building improves the definition of the campus open space network, segregating the presence of the automobile from the campus ‘interior’ while maintaining its convenient proximity for the university’s large commuter population. By sliding the building out from between the classroom buildings, three distinct courtyards are made, and the building encourages through circulation among the many destinations in the area.