PROJECT OVERVIEW

A First-of-Its-Kind Partnership in Virginia.

As George Mason University’s engineering programs expanded, the need for a modern academic facility became urgent, but the state’s multi-step approval process made delivery nearly impossible within the desired timeframe, so the university turned to Edgemoor for a creative solution. 

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Through an unsolicited public-private partnership proposal, the first of its kind for a Virginia university, we streamlined the entire process, integrating design, construction, and financing into a single package. The building was designed with a deliberate programmatic split, dividing the facility roughly in half between academic and research functions, so that classrooms and student learning environments would sit alongside active research labs in a single building. That intentional pairing was central to the project's mission: giving engineering students direct, daily exposure to the kind of research happening at the leading edge of their field. The result was a state-of-the-art engineering facility delivered years ahead of schedule, enabling George Mason to meet growing demand for high-tech education and research.

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This groundbreaking partnership helped establish a model that continues to shape how Virginia delivers complex higher-education facilities today.

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A decade after opening, the Nguyen Engineering Building has become a foundational part of George Mason's College of Engineering and Computing, one of the fastest-growing engineering programs in Virginia. Students walk into research labs daily that house active work in cybersecurity, robotics, bioengineering, and computer science, alongside the classrooms where they take their core coursework. The building is doing exactly what it was designed to do, preparing the next generation of engineers alongside the research that is shaping the field.

Great Project Team! Effective site management, on schedule and budget, and superb safety record.”

- Tom Calhoun,
Vice President, George Mason University