Virginia Tech Academic Building One Earns Dual Honors at Interior Design Best of Year Awards

Virginia Tech’s Academic Building One is shaping the future of academic design, an achievement recently recognized by Interior Design Magazine.

The project earned two Best of Year Awards in the Large Higher Education and Shining Moments categories, celebrating its seamless integration of technology, sustainability and human-centered spaces.

Design Highlights:

• Computational Design: Advanced computational design techniques were used to explore more than 1,400 different massing options to arrive at the final faceted form.
• Heliomorphic Design: The façade employs heliomorphic design principles, aligning the building’s massing with the sun’s path. The project is one of the first in the U.S. to use building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) panels, embedding PV in the outer layer of insulated glass.
• Human-Centered, Inclusive Design: The interiors employ neurodiversity and biophilic features such as wellness stations, interior walking routes and stairwell graphics to encourage movement. Exterior glazing creates a dappled sunlight effect, while PV-integrated glass preserves visibility and casts dynamic patterns that enrich the interior experience.

Interior Design’s Best of Year Awards honor the most innovative work worldwide, spotlighting projects, products and creative minds defining what’s now and next in design. View the complete list of winners and honorees here.