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Aiming to increase the presence of the arts on campus and within the region, the new Center for the Arts at Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech) is a step change in music technology research and education. Arup was brought on board to provide acoustics, audiovisual, performance sound, video, and communications consulting for the completion of the arts centre.
The facility includes a 1,260-seat performance hall, a visual arts gallery, and a cutting edge flexible experimental performance and lab space called “The Cube”. The main performance theatre is a multi-use room, designed to have excellent acoustics for symphonic music performance, with the flexibility to use the room for touring Broadway shows by incorporating motorised acoustic drapery and a large orchestra shell that transforms the space from a proscenium theatre to a concert hall. The centre also includes the Institute for Creative Arts and Technology, a new research facility with a series of specialised lab spaces that bring together art, technology, research, and education.
The acoustic quality of the concert theatre coupled with the technical capabilities of the facility provide the university, local community, and region with a world class centre for the performing arts.
“"The acoustics... are world-class. We are all so excited about having a hall of this quality."
—Dwight Bigler, Conductor, Director, Virginia Tech Choral Activities. ”
Design by listening
Our SoundLab was used to experience the acoustics of the performance hall in 3D and evaluate different design options throughout the design process. Outputs from the SoundLab studies included an optimised forestage reflector layout, an enhanced balcony overhang designed to improve the acoustic experience at all seats in the hall, as well as a custom double-curved wall panel that integrates acoustics, lighting, and architecture.
Utilising multimedia
The Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech will be home to a series of multimedia laboratory spaces that will explore the many intersections of art, education, and technology. The dedicated high-bandwidth digital audio-visual network infrastructure (fibre and CAT6) designed by the Arup team supports research, broadcasting, and streaming, and enables real time interaction between local venues and remote sites ultimately creating a modern learning environment.
Transformability
Performance venues today need to work equally well for the wide range of performance types — ranging from acoustic music that spans multiple cultures and eras to high-impact fully amplified modern music, dance, and theatre. Creating an acoustical environment that responds to this entire range of performance types is a main focus of our design process. For the Center for the Arts, we designed a motorised acoustic drapery system that can be deployed to cover part or all of the wall surfaces, a powerful high-fidelity sound system that has the ability to disappear for unamplified music performances, and a stage enclosure designed to be an extension to the room, with the ability to disappear and reveal a proscenium theatre.
“"The room itself sounds like an instrument."
—Matt Gentry, Roanoke Times Newspaper. ”
