Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond

The Life Sciences Center at VCU serves several important purposes. First and foremost, it is home to the departments of chemistry, environmental studies and related disciplines, and biology, which is the University's fastest growing major. That makes the building one of the most important additions in recent history. And, because it forms the southwest corner of campus, it provides an impressive gateway.

The building program includes:

• Instructional research and teaching labs
• Classrooms, with general purpose spaces for campus-wide use
• Two lecture halls
• Four case study rooms
• Smaller seminar classrooms
• Offices
• Support space

Project objectives included high-quality laboratory and teaching space and the flexibility to accommodate changes in teaching methods, technology, and industry standards.

ASG was the design architect in association with Jacobs Facilities.

Completion: 2001
Size: 128,500 gsf
Cost: $22 million