Susan S. Goode Fine & Performing Arts Center, Virginia Wesleyan University

With an impressive annual schedule of plays, concerts, exhibits, and special presentations, the fine and performing arts are central to the Virginia Wesleyan experience. To serve the University's growing programs in these areas, VWU built the Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center.  

Speight Marshall Francis served as Structural Engineer and Agent 1 Special Inspector for a new 20,000 sf, single-story fine arts building with 300-320 seat theater. Spaces include lobby, gallery, theater and stage, rehearsal spaces, music classrooms, offices, scene shop, costume shop, and support spaces. Art studios, including painting and drawings, ceramics, sculpture, digital graphics, offices, and support spaces. General-purpose classrooms. Type II Non-Combustible construction. Use Group A1-Assembly and E-Educational. Spread, reinforced concrete foundations, and slabs. Steel columns, beams, and floor and roof joists. Long-span joists at the theater. Metal stud exterior framing. Brick, stone, metal, and insulated glass in aluminum curtainwall frames are the major exterior enclosures. Metal standing seam and single-ply membrane roofs. Interior construction includes stone, carpet, tile, ceramic, and wood floors. Stone, wood, and vinyl base. Metal studs and abuse-resistant gypsum wallboard, plaster, and wood paneling for walls. Suspended acoustical ceiling tile, gypsum wallboard, and wood acoustical "clouds". Wood doors and frames, metal frames, interior glass, and built-in cabinetry. The theater includes sloped flooring with fixed seating, raised stage, and suspended metal catwalks. Acoustical paneling for walls and ceilings. Theater lighting. Sustainable design and LEED principles. 

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Susan S. Goode Fine & Performing Arts Center