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.

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.