UT students waiting to take a number of science classes will have a new building to study out of starting this summer.
Strong Hall, a 260,000 square foot academic science facility, opened on campus Wednesday.
Faculty and staff have already begun moving into the new building. It houses the Anthropology and Earth & Planetary Sciences departments and features chemistry and biology labs.
The total budget to construct the building was $114 million when construction began in 2014. UT leaders said every new student will eventually take a class at Strong Hall at some point during their studies.
The building stands where the old Sophronia Strong Hall used to be. Officials said they looking into saving the old dorm, but opted for the new building instead.
"We couldn't use it for modern labs, but I think we did the next best thing," associate vice chancellor Dave Irvin said. "We took things like the old stone arches, some of the mantles that had the names of the original women students at UT. We've incorporated all those into the modern building so we can tell the story of the original Strong Hall, but incorporated it into a new structure."
Summer classes begin for students next week. The building will be completely in use by fall when the final touches are finished.
