The main campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology occupies part of Midtown Atlanta, primarily bordered by 10th Street to the north, North Avenue to the south, and the Downtown Connector to the East, placing it well in sight of the Atlanta skyline. In 1996, the campus was the site of the athletes' village and a venue for a number of athletic events for the 1996 Summer Olympics. The construction of the Olympic Village, along with subsequent gentrification of the surrounding areas, significantly changed the campus.
The Georgia Tech campus is located in Midtown, an area north of downtown Atlanta. Although a number of skyscrapers (most visibly AT&T Midtown Center, One Coca-Cola Plaza, and Bank of America Plaza) are visible from all points on campus, the campus itself has few buildings over four stories and has a great deal of greenery. This gives it a distinctly suburban atmosphere quite different from other Atlanta campuses such as that of Georgia State University.
In addition to the main campus, Georgia Tech also operates satellite campuses in Savannah, Georgia (Georgia Tech Savannah); Metz, France (Georgia Tech Lorraine); Athlone, Ireland; Shenzhen, China; and Singapore.
History
As noted by a historical marker on the large hill in Central Campus, the site occupied by the school's first buildings once held fortifications built to protect Atlanta during the Atlanta campaign of the American Civil War. The surrender of the city took place on the southwestern boundary of the modern Georgia Tech campus in 1864.
The Georgia School of Technology opened its doors in the fall of 1888 with only two buildings, under the leadership of professor and pastor Isaac S. Hopkins. One building (now Tech Tower, the main administrative complex) had classrooms to teach students; the other featured a workshop with a foundry, forge, boiler room, and engine room. It was designed specifically as a "contract shop" where students would work to produce goods to sell, creating revenue for the school while the students learned vocational skills in a "hands-on" manner.
A 1965 plan signaled the beginning of Tech's expansion to include what is now West Campus. The area west of Hemphill Avenue, for decades the campus' western border, was then a working-class multiracial neighborhood, and Hemphill itself was a major city thoroughfare connecting Buckhead, the Atlantic Steel Mill, Techwood Homes and Downtown.
In 1994, G. Wayne Clough became the first Tech alumnus to serve as the president of the institute. While Clough was in office, around $1 billion was spent on expanding and improving the campus. These projects include the construction of the Manufacturing Related Disciplines Complex, 10th and Home, Tech Square, The Biomedical Complex, the completion and subsequent renovations of several west campus dorms, the Student Center renovation, the expanded 5th Street Bridge, the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center's renovation into the CRC, the new Health Center, the Klaus Advanced Computing Building, the Molecular Science and Engineering Building, and the Nanotechnology Research Center. In 2016, the Institute announced its Landscape Master Plan, which aimed to reduce stormwater runoff. The project included the construction of the Kendeda Building, a green classroom building built as a part of the EcoCommons. The EcoCommons encompasses 80 acres of resilient plantings that filter stormwater and support biodiversity, with the 8-acre portion near the Kandeda Building featuring more than 600 trees as well as ferns, grasses and perennials. The construction of the EcoCommons also involved the demolition of the Berignause Building, which formerly housed the Georgia Tech Police Department.
Organization The campus is organized into four main parts: West Campus, East Campus, Central Campus, and Technology Square. West Campus and East Campus are both occupied primarily by student living complexes, while Central Campus is reserved primarily for teaching and research buildings.
West Campus
Formerly the location of the Hemphill Avenue neighborhood, Georgia Tech began to expand into this area in 1965. West Campus is occupied primarily by apartments and coed undergraduate dormitories. Apartments include Crecine, Center Street, Zbar, Maulding, Nelson-Shell, and Eighth Street Apartments (all of which were built as part of the 1996 Olympic Village), while dorms include Freeman, Montag, Fitten, Folk, Caldwell, Armstrong, Hefner, Fulmer, and Woodruff Suites. The Campus Recreation Center (formerly the Student Athletic Complex); a volleyball court; a large, low natural green area known as the Burger Bowl; and a flat artificial green area known as the Stamps Field (formerly SAC Field) are all located on the western side of the campus.
West Campus was formerly home to Under the Couch, which relocated to the Student Center in the fall of 2010. Also within walking distance of West Campus are several late-night eateries, primarily on Northside Drive. Engineer's Bookstore, an economical alternative to Georgia Tech's official bookstore, also operated near West Campus until its closure in 2016. West campus was home to a convenience store, West Side Market, which closed in 2017. Due to limited space, all auto travel proceeds via a network of one-way streets which connects West Campus to Hemphill Avenue and Ferst Drive, the main road of the campus. Woodruff Dining Hall, or "Woody's", was the West Campus dining hall before its closure in 2017. It was replaced by West Village, a multipurpose facility featuring dining options, meeting space, School of Music classrooms, and offices to West Campus.
East Campus
East Campus houses all of the fraternities and sororities as well as most of the undergraduate freshman dormitories. East Campus abuts the Downtown Connector, granting residences quick access to Midtown and its businesses (for example, The Varsity) via several bridges over the highway, as well as a tunnel beneath it. Georgia Tech football's home, Bobby Dodd Stadium is located on East Campus, as well as Georgia Tech basketball's home, McCamish Pavilion (formerly Alexander Memorial Coliseum).
Brittain Dining Hall is the main dining hall for East Campus. It is modeled after a medieval church, complete with carved columns and stained glass windows showing symbolic figures. The main road leading from East Campus to Central Campus is a steep ascending incline commonly known as "Freshman Hill" (in reference to the large number of freshman dorms near its foot). On March 8, 2007, the former Georgia State University Village apartments were transferred to Georgia Tech. Renamed North Avenue Apartments by the institute, they began housing students in the fall semester of 2007.
Central Campus
Central Campus is home to the majority of the academic, research, and administrative buildings. The Central Campus includes, among others: the Howey Physics Building; the Boggs Chemistry Building; the College of Computing Building; the Klaus Advanced Computing Building; the College of Architecture Building; the D. M. Smith Building, which houses the School of Public Policy; and the Ford Environmental Science & Technology Building. In 2005, the School of Modern Languages returned to the Swann Building, a 100-year-old former dormitory that now houses some of the most technology-equipped classrooms on campus. Intermingled with these are a variety of research facilities, such as the Centennial Research Building, the Microelectronics Research Center, the Neely Nuclear Research Center (decommissioned 1999), the Nanotechnology Research Center, and the Petit Biotechnology Building. Notable green spaces include Tech Green, the 8-acre EcoCommons, a community garden, and other quads and courtyards that promote student and environmental health.
Tech's administrative buildings, such as Tech Tower, and the Bursar's Office, are also located on the Central Campus, in the Georgia Tech Historic District. The campus library, the Student Center, and the Student Services Building ("Flag Building") are also located on Central Campus. The Student Center provides a variety of recreational and social functions for students including: a computer lab, a game room ("Tech Rec"), the Student Post Office, a music venue, a movie theater, the Food Court, plus meeting rooms for various clubs and organizations. Adjacent to the eastern entrance of the Student Center is the Kessler Campanile (which is referred to by students as "The Shaft"). The former Hightower Textile Engineering building was demolished in 2002 to create Yellow Jacket Park. More greenspace now occupies the area around the Kessler Campanile for a more aesthetically pleasing look, in accordance with the official Campus Master Plan. In August 2011, the G. Wayne Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons opened next to the library and occupies part of the Yellow Jacket Park area.
The Ferst Center for the Arts, located next to the student center, is Georgia Tech's theater and arts center, and adjoins DramaTech, the student run theater. It contains a 1,155-seat auditorium that features a proscenium stage, orchestra pit, and theatrical lighting and sound systems.
Technology Square
Technology Square, also known as "Tech Square", is located across the Downtown Connector and embedded in the city east of East Campus. Opened in August 2003 at a cost of $179 million, the district was built over run-down neighborhoods and has sparked a revitalization of the entire Midtown area. Connected by the recently renovated Fifth Street Bridge, it is a pedestrian-friendly area comprising Georgia Tech facilities and retail locations. One complex contains the College of Business Building, holding classrooms and office space for the Scheller College of Business, as well as the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center and the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center. Another part of Tech Square, the privately owned Centergy One complex, contains the Technology Square Research Building (TSRB), holding faculty and graduate student offices for the College of Computing and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, as well as the GVU Center, a multidisciplinary technology research center. The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) is a science and business incubator, run by the Georgia Institute of Technology, and is also headquartered in Technology Square's Centergy One complex.
Other Georgia Tech-affiliated buildings in the area host the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development, the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute, the Advanced Technology Development Center, VentureLab, and the Georgia Electronic Design Center. Technology Square also hosts a variety of restaurants and businesses, including the headquarters of notable consulting companies like Accenture and also including the official Institute bookstore, a Barnes & Noble bookstore, and a Georgia Tech-themed Waffle House.
Academic buildings
Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons
Opened in Fall 2011, the G. Wayne Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons (Clough Commons, or CULC) is a 220,000 square foot academic building located on Central Campus, adjacent to Tech Green. The building is named after former Georgia Tech President G. Wayne Clough. It is connected to and managed by the Library and contains 41 classrooms and two 300-seat auditoriums.
Coon Building