Campus Design Principles - Facilities Services - Virginia Tech

2. Building Scale
The design of the original campus buildings
was influenced by a broad range of factors
that generated specific attributes of building
size, organizational structure and volume.
Many of these influences related to
construction technology and available building
systems with respect to structure and
mechanical systems. For example, a desire
for natural ventilation was a particularly
important factor in determining building width
in the historic campus structures.
The building design principles promote new
design strategies which reflect the building's
site, programmatic function, site
considerations, surrounding environment, as
well as their place in time.
Height
To maintain the sense of scale currently
experienced in major spaces on campus, it
will be important to controlling the height of
buildings, particularly in the core area of
campus.
• Generally, buildings are to be three to
five floors in height above grade.
• If more than four floors above grade are
needed, the upper floors and penthouses
must be set back.
• Taller exceptional elements are to be
designed and located in response to
particular opportunities outlined in the
campus master plan, including landmark
locations described in the 2006 Master
Plan update.
• Buildings of three and four stories in
height should be subdivided into a base,
body, and top. This delineation may be
accomplished through changes in building
plane, differentiation in material, or both.
Massing
While many of the buildings on campus are
simple in their overall massing, there is wide
use of smaller scale individual elements such
as bay projections and porches. These
elements are used to suggest special internal
functions, draw attention to important areas
like entrances, and provide visual
and compositional balance. These elements
help to provide the visual and psychological
cues necessary for an understandable
architecture. Their inclusion in new designs is
encouraged.
Simple massing allows constrained budgets to
be focused on higher quality materials and
careful detailing. The traditional buildings on
campus exemplify how richness can be
achieved through the use of durable materials
and fine detail within the context of simple
massing.
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Volumetric Variation
Variation in the massing of buildings may be
accomplished in several ways. The following
considerations are recommended strategies
for developing expression in the basic volume
of new building forms.
• Bays, porches, towers, and other minor
adjustments to massing are encouraged.
• Some expression of the building structure
is encouraged in the design and rhythm
of the facade, including options such as
piers, buttresses and modulation of the
wall plane.
• Openings in the masonry wall should
have some level of correspondence to the
building's structural rhythm, either in
continuous openings or by combinations
of smaller openings within the bays.
• Iconic structures, while an exception to
the rule, are welcome as important
campus landmarks. Substantial review
and discussion should be held regarding
the appropriateness of such proposals.
Of particular interest in understanding the
preferred massing and spatial character of
buildings in the campus landscape, please
refer to the Agriculture Quadrangle for
reference. The following renderings illustrate
the range of building volumes and
architectural language found in the
quadrangle.