VCU’s Honors College occupies a former hospital that sits diagonally on its square city site, creating awkward triangular-shaped site areas.  The renovation project demolished the old hospital entrances and created new entryways. 

The project also created a main gathering space elevated above Grace Street and a secondary gathering space to the east, for private functions.  The canopy in the main gathering space also holds a modular green roof which students can see from their rooms above. A paneled perforated screen was designed to enclose the existing balconies—creating a city scale building sign while also mitigating dangers to student residents who use the balconies. Weathering steel (Corten) was chosen as a primary material because it harmonized the warm concrete of the hospital with the red brick of surrounding buildings.

Architect of Record  VMDO Architects | Steve Davis, Lead Designer