Virginia Tech’s Creativity and Innovation District (CID) is a signature inter-disciplinary innovation hub located at the eastern edge of campus, where Virginia Tech meets downtown Blacksburg. Bringing students and faculty together and inviting collaborators from local and global communities, the CID creates a place for students, faculty, and external partners to advance experimentation in the arts and technology. Echoing the vibrance of the district, the new CID residence hall provides a playful, creative, and inspiring environment that builds identity and a sense of belonging for residents.

VMDO oversaw the design of the criteria documents for the 596-bed residence hall intended for students enmeshed in the CID and designed around two LLCs for the arts and entrepreneurship. The innovative living-learning community is open to students from all majors across campus who want to gain insight into the entrepreneurial process. Faculty apartments allow live-in professors to be fully immersed in the interdisciplinary activity in the district and engage with students in enriching ways. Common spaces and interconnected circulation encourage students to interact at every scale of the building and contribute to a high level of energy and engagement.

The site design leverages visual openness, intentional pedestrian connections, and a variety of green spaces to connect the building and landscape to the larger CID district and its anticipated CID Green. The building’s massing and architecture embed the building’s character firmly within the recognizable language unique to the Virginia Tech campus.