Students returning to campus this fall will notice a new structure when they walk along the east side of campus. Troxel Hall has been completed and will be open for classes. The building, which is just over 21,000 square feet, houses a state-of-the-art, 400-seat lecture hall.

The construction of Troxel Hall is part of a 20 year planning process to accommodate and keep up with changes in technology and teaching methods, so that Iowa State may expand its educational opportunities.

Troxel Hall is equipped with cameras, an audio system and television projectors. It also contains a preparatory lab, a storage room for instructors’ materials and an adjoining room in which students and instructors can speak in a one-on-one setting after classes. An elevator helps to make the hall handicapped-accessible.

Along with adding lecture space, Troxel Hall was built with environmental awareness in mind. The hall was designed by BNIM Architects, an architecture firm which incorporates high performance sustainability features in its designs.

Troxel Hall sports a “green roof,” which was planted in May and will help to reduce energy needed to cool the building. The south and east sides of the building respectively feature a glass wall and energy-efficient glass windows, which provide natural light for students in indoor waiting areas.

The most innovative sustainability feature of Troxel Hall is not inside the building, but outside. Beneath the brick pavement outside of the building lies an underground pavement support system, called Silva Cells. These cells are made of stacked frames filled with loose soil and are covered with permeable platform decks. This design allows tree roots to grow, prevents soil compaction and filters and absorbs storm runoff.

A total of 180 Silva Cell frames and decks have been installed. The Troxel Hall Cells are the first to be implemented in the state of Iowa and are part of the LEED Certification process; the hall’s target is to be certified Gold.

Construction of the building was made possible by Iowa State alumnus Douglas D. Troxel, whom the hall is named after. Troxel graduated from Iowa State in 1967 with a degree in mathematics and is the president and CEO of the Change Happens Foundation, which provided a lead donation of nearly $5 million towards the building project.

Troxel, who started a software company in 1980, expressed his wish to create“a high-tech center for active learning on the beautiful and world-class Iowa State campus.” A dedication ceremony for the building will take place on Aug. 30.