Virginia Tech's plans for a new campus near Amazon HQ2 are beginning to come into focus as the university prepares to break ground next year.

Monday, Virginia Tech unveiled new renderings of the 300K SF academic building on the campus in the Alexandria portion of Potomac Yard. SmithGroup is working as the design architect and Sasaki is the campus master planner.

The first building is planned to break ground next year and deliver in fall 2024. It will consist of instruction, research, office and support spaces for Virginia Tech's graduate-level programs in computer science and computer engineering.

The building will feature a solar array and the glass facade will generate solar power using photovoltaic generation. The geometric form of the building was designed to capture maximum sunlight for power generation.

"This project is a bellwether for what we are trying to achieve through our new campus, creating a place that provides the space and environment to foster collaboration and the creation of bold new ideas," Virginia Tech Innovation Campus Executive Director Lance Collins said in a release.

The Virginia Tech Innovation Campus was first announced in November 2018 as part of Northern Virginia's winning bid for Amazon HQ2. The campus had initially been envisioned for Stonebridge's Oakville Triangle site, but Virginia Tech later switched plans and picked the site of the Potomac Yard Shopping Center, managed by JBG Smith and Lionstone Investments.

The campus will be built on the northern portion of the 65-acre shopping center site, which is ultimately planned for 7.5M SF of mixed-use development. The project sits near the future Potomac Yard Metro station, a new infill stop on the Yellow Line that broke ground in December.

JBG Smith, in addition to leading the Potomac Yard Shopping Center development, is also partnering with Amazon on its second headquarters. Construction began on the first phase of HQ2 development, a pair of 22-story office towers, in January.