First Hokie Stone Set into Virginia Tech Carilion Building Façade

The first pieces of Hokie Stone have been set into the new  Virginia Tech Carilion building façade.
The first pieces of Hokie Stone have been set into the new Virginia Tech Carilion building façade.

The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute (VTC) passed a symbolic milestone in Roanoke recently with the placing of the first batch of Hokie Stones in the façade of the new VTC building.

Hokie Stone, a type of dolomite limestone, is the traditional building material used on Virginia Tech buildings. Most of the stones come from a 40-acre quarry located near the Virginia Tech central campus in Blacksburg.

“This milestone is exciting because it is something that you can actually see – and in many ways it represents the partnership between Virginia Tech and Carilion Clinic,” states Dennis Dean, acting director of the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute. “We are carefully putting the pieces together to make VTC a reality. The partnership is impressive – people have already begun to collaborate on many levels.”

Workers are hand cutting the stones on the VTC construction site in Roanoke. Approximately 170 tons of Hokie Stone will be used to cover about 5,570 square feet along the entrance to the VTC building.

“Virginia Tech is my alma mater, so this project is especially important to me. Hokie Stone is a wonderful complement to the building, the visual appeal is obvious — but it is the emotional appeal that really makes a strong statement,” said states Daniel DiMarco, project architect at Roanoke-based AECOM.

“The Hokie Stone serves as a foundation to the main entrance of the building, which reflects the academic foundation that Virginia Tech envisions for the new institution.”

Research conducted at VTC will create a bridge between basic science research at Virginia Tech and clinical expertise at Carilion Clinic. Research conducted by scientists will contribute to the prevention and solution of existing and emerging problems in contemporary medicine.

In early June, VTC’s four-year doctorate of medicine program received preliminary accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) and in July the school received certification by Virginia’s State Council of Higher Education. The school’s first class of 42 aspiring physicians will begin their studies in the fall of 2010 and graduate with an M.D. degree in the spring of 2014.

VT News Service


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