On April 26, Virginia Commonwealth University opened the College of Humanities and Sciences’ new 168,000-square-foot STEM building. The six-floor building, located at the site of the former Franklin Street Gym at 817 W. Franklin St., will expand lab, classroom and office space for the College of Humanities and Sciences. Nearly 60% of VCU undergraduate students are enrolled in the college, which is home to 17 departments, two schools and three programs. The STEM building will feature 32 teaching labs; the Math Exchange, an innovative facility for math instruction; a Science Hub, a dedicated space for student/faculty interaction, study groups and specialized support for STEM classes; two 250-seat, team-based learning classrooms; computer labs; and large- and small-capacity flexible classrooms. It will feature instructional wet and dry labs and classrooms for teaching STEM subjects. The $125 million building was designed by Ballinger and Quinn Evans Architects and constructed by Hourigan.
