Old Dominion University - Virginia Modeling, Analysis & Simulation Center, The Mast Center at Hampton Roads

Portsmouth-Suffolk Border, Virginia

McPherson Design Group assisted in the design of three (3) buildings in The Mast Center of Hampton Roads. The Mast Center neighbors the United States Joint Forces Command, which is the “heartbeat of the modeling and simulation industry in Hampton Roads”. The first building is the $12.2 Million, 60,000 square foot Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC) Headquarters, which offers an abundance of modeling and simulation laboratory space, reconfigurable research areas, and meeting facilities. The structure is a glass and brick building with a 7,800 square foot conference room that can accommodate a wide variety of high-tech tabletop simulations, video demonstrations, and research projects.  Another conference room features a 26’x6’ screen capable of linking more than 64 video inputs (8 simultaneously) for PowerPoint Presentations, virtual environments, and remote video viewing. The VMASC also has space for secure research projects, facilities for several small business incubators, a gigabit Ethernet network, connectivity via the National LambdaRail, office space for more than 40 researchers, and room to expand as the industry grows. The VMASC Research Director, John Sokolwski, advised that “research is currently being conducted in transportation, military, homeland defense, and medical modeling and simulations, with an ability to expand efforts in other areas, including game-based learning, enterprise engineering, social sciences, and artificial intelligence/robotics”. The second building is the $10.6 Million, 53,000 square foot Tri-Cities Higher Education Center, which is also a glass and brick structure. This facility offers upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as certificate programs. The academic programs will focus on engineering, education, health science, criminal justice, and business administration. The master’s programs include business, engineering, health sciences, and education. The wireless building features 23 state-of- the-art, fully mediated classrooms, a computer lab, and stations for laptops. The third building is the Mast One Building, a 60,000 square foot speculative research and technology building, which is also a glass and brick structure. Our design team received The HRACRE Excellence in Development Design Award for the Tri-Cities Building – Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center for Best Institutional/Public Building in October 2008.