Washington-Alexandria Center
The Washington-Alexandria Center allows students to address the complexities of urban areas, using the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region as a resource laboratory for design and research. With its proximity to downtown Washington, D.C., the Center, established in 1980 as an urban extension of the College, provides numerous opportunities in which graduate students can pursue their selected programs of study.
As the nation’s capital, Washington possesses many cultural and educational resources, including the various facilities of the Smithsonian Institution, the American Institute of Architects, and the National Building Museum.
The Center offers graduate studies in Architecture and Landscape Architecture. The Master of Landscape Architecture Program is an accredited three-year professional degree that prepares students for the field and the practice of landscape architecture. The heart of the program is a studio-based curriculum integrating design, history, ecology, fabrication, and representation around the theme of public landscapes. In addition, dual degree programs with Urban and Regional Planning and Natural Resources are also available to students in the MLA program. For further information contact Laurel McSherry, program director, lm@vt.edu.
The Washington-Alexandria Center’s academic buildings are located within the historic district of Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia, providing studios, a library, shops, darkrooms, computer lab, and classrooms. The Center also maintains a 23 unit apartment building and a commercial building (3,400 square feet) for professional projects. All facilities are located within a four block radius and form an urban campus of historic structures.
