Scott Shipp Hall Renovation and Addition

Lexington, Virginia

Scott Shipp Hall (c1918), is one of the core academic classroom buildings at the Virginia Military Institute. This facility, originally constructed in 1918 and expanded in 1955, serves the Institute’s academic programs in the Liberal Arts including the departments of English, International Studies, Economic/Business, Modern Languages, and History. With the Corp of Cadets growing at VMI, G&HA was commissioned to complete a rehabilitation and expansion of the facility, including renovation and rehabilitation of approximately 66,840-square-feet, and a five-story 28,000-square-foot addition. Work included a complete redesign of the 1955 wing while restoring much of the original 1918 character. The new addition is designed with a compatible Gothic Revival style to match the original structure and the overall character of VMI’s academic facilities.

The building includes five stories on a heavily sloping site and is located on a key corner of the main access road through the Post. Among the challenges in the project included developing a phasing plan to allow a portion of the building to remain operational for classes throughout the project construction. The compact site area also required careful design consideration to integrate the facility and create better accessibility for the facility, without impacting the adjacent Letcher Avenue or overwhelming surrounding facilities. The facility includes the addition of new classrooms, interactive learning spaces, faculty offices, a photo lab, and significant new space for Cadet study areas. A new Front Entry Terrace will serve as the review stand for Cadet leadership to review the daily parade of Cadets down Letcher Avenue. New technology has been integrated throughout the project to provide state-of-the-art learning spaces for the next generation of VMI Cadets.