The School of Data Science building faces Emmet Street, with an amphitheater and a retention pond between its façade and the street. The four-story, 61,000-square-foot facility will include four “adaptive classrooms” with technology to enhance the learning process and faculty offices, as well as meeting and research areas. The plans call for a simple building footprint with a double-height interior space to host lectures and other events, as well as a glass façade.
In keeping with the University’s 2030 sustainability goals, a green roof is planned to mitigate the heat gain from a south-facing roof, and offices will have windows that open to increase natural ventilation. There will be a continuous terrace at the fourth floor to provide views overlooking the pond as well as the Rotunda and the new Alderman Library addition. The building will connect with Central Grounds structures in its materials and coloring, as well as in its views.
Bourne, the inaugural dean of the School of Data Science and a renowned biomedical and data science researcher, called the construction a landmark event for UVA.
“Those of you who are part of the University know that, metaphorically, we call ourselves ‘The School Without Walls’ to emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of our field and our attitude to that field,” Bourne said. “For this brief moment, it is not only true metaphorically, but also in reality. Even as the walls go up to create the workplace we are all so excited about, we will always think about it in the terms reflected today.”
Bourne said he got a perspective of the project on a recent tour of the construction site.
“The three years of effort by so many was creating a true home for data science at UVA, where generations of students will be trained and so much groundbreaking research will be done,” Bourne said. “It’s a home that looks at higher education through a different lens – a lens of interdisciplinarity, public-private partnership, cooperation and collaboration obvious from looking at the building itself from any angle. The excitement of this, our mission as a school, will only grow as more is constructed.”
And he noted that data science has been applied to the project.
“Lots of data science goes into that, from data and methods in modern architectural design, to maintaining supply chains, to the precision of every prefabricated piece of the building, and so much more,” Bourne said. “We have every intent to apply data science to ourselves, within and for the building, as we think about a sustainable future and our relationship with the communities that surround us.”
Source: https://news.virginia.edu/content/signed-beam-tops-out-future-home-data-science