Oct. 12, 2017

VCU School of Allied Health Professions topping out new building

Construction milestone marks placement of highest steel beam

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By Anne Dreyfuss
C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Allied Health Professions will hold a traditional “topping out” ceremony to celebrate the completion of a major construction phase of its new building. The event marks the placement of the highest steel beam of the building’s eight-story structural frame. Attendees will have the opportunity to sign the beam at the event before it is placed on the building.

 

WHAT: School of Allied Health Professions topping out ceremony

WHEN: Oct. 16, 9:30 a.m.

WHERE: 9th and Turpin Streets in front of Larrick Student Center
Parking will be available for media at VCU’s Q Lot (600 N. 10th St.)

WHO: Michael Rao, Ph.D., president of VCU and VCU Health System
Marsha Rappley, M.D., CEO of VCU Heath System and VCU vice president of health sciences
Cecil B. Drain, Ph.D., dean of VCU School of Allied Health Professions

The new 154,000-square-foot facility will provide a unified space for the school’s nine academic units, the dean’s office and the Virginia Center on Aging. Its top-ranked programs have occupied 13 buildings in the past 45 years and are currently scattered among five buildings on two campuses.

The LEED Silver-designed building is going to be L-shaped, with a west-facing eight-story wing and a south-facing four-story wing. Each of the building’s eight floors will feature formal and informal spaces designed to promote interprofessional education and collaboration. The building will also feature cutting-edge learning laboratories designed for human simulation, diagnostic technology, rehabilitation and counseling education. Flexible classrooms will be designed to promote student engagement and to foster distance learning opportunities.