Facilities
Studios and labs for both Visual Communication Design and the Pictorial and Spatial Arts are accessible for majors during daytime and evening hours, seven days a week, during the academic year and summer sessions.
The Armory
The Art Armory
is home to the school's main office, gallery, and classrooms for Foundations, and Drawing. One of Blacksburg's historic buildings and a former community gymnasium it is situated on Draper Road, a lively intersection of the town and campus and design studios. The Armory's spacious structure, high ceilings, and abundant natural light furnish a striking example of innovative architectural conversion. The Armory Art Gallery is operated as an educational and outreach service of the University. Its exhibition calendar includes work by students, faculty, and artists of regional and national importance. The XYZ gallery, located at 221 N. Main St., is home to the Student Art Association, which operates an independent program of exhibitions by students and local artists. Soon to begin construction is a new 1700 sq foot Mezzanine.
(ADLC) Art & Design Learning Center
(Painting, Ceramics, & Sculpture)
The Art & Design Learning Center (ADLC) also known as the "the Old Print Shop" houses the studios for Ceramics, Painting and Sculpture.
The Ceramics studio is equipped with potter’s wheels, slab rollers and hand building areas. The studio is divided into two areas, one for red clays and the second for light clays and porcelain. A glazing area and electric kilns are provided for decorating and firing.
The Painting Studios are supplied with painting easels, a large variety of still life objects and model set-ups. The studio is separated into two distinct teaching areas. One studio for introductory painting classes, and the other is for upper level painting classes. It has natural light and high ceilings.
The Sculpture studio offers a workspace that allows students to create three-dimensional forms in a variety of media. A clay modeling area as well as wax, mold making, and wood working areas are available on a rotating basis. For more advanced students, a metalworking and casting facility is located off campus at the Prices’ Fork Research Station.
The Visual Design Studio, (VDS4):
The Visual Design Studio 4, a university Center located at the Research Development Facility (RDF) on campus provides Visual Communication Design students with professional and entrepreneurial experience rarely available to undergraduates.
Senior student interns work in a team environment under the creative direction of Visual Communication Design faculty to produce professional products for VDS4's clients both internal and external to the university. Education and outreach are prime objectives of VDS4. VDS4 is a national and regional award-winning center at Virginia Tech.
3D Animation Lab & Cyber Studio
The new Digital Arts and Animation Lab (DAAS) is centrally located in Blacksburg’s downtown area. This facility provides students with the high-end tools used throughout industry in the production of digital film, web, and animation content. The lab contains 16 Mac Pro workstations with large 23-inch monitors and loaded with professional industry applications, like Final Cut Pro and Maya. The facility also has a rack of 5 Mac Xserves for use as a render cluster and a state-of-the-art ABS Rapid Prototyper, used for outputting virtual models into Three-Dimensional forms for research and educational purposes.
The Cyber Studio
is a new Creative and Visual Research environment for both faculty and student usage. This Cyber Lab is collaboratively utilized by the (CCTAD) The Collaboration for the Creative Technologies in the Arts and Design Faculty and (DARC) the Digital Arts Research Collaborative for New Media and Creative Technologies Projects.
(VCD) Visual Communication Design Program: Collegiate Square:
Collegiate Square located close to campus is the new teaching environment for the Visual Communication Design students and faculty. This space incorporates four unique teaching environments and space for students to display work for critiques, photographing portfolio items. The VCD program and Art History will eventually be located in the renovated Henderson Hall Facility in 2010.
Art History’s Program: Sandy Hall
Sandy Hall is the interim space for the Art History Program. Sandy Hall houses the three Art History Faculty, the Slide Collection, 3D Scanning Equipment, a Seminar Room and a Teaching Classroom with high –end presentation projection.