Western Virginia Center for the Arts & Sciences
Roanoke, VA

HSMM designed the transformation of two 75-year-old warehouse buildings into a 128,000-square-foot cultural complex. Center-in-the-Square houses the public spaces, while Center-on-Church houses the "behind the scenes" office, meeting, rehearsal, and storage areas. HSMM designed the center to combine old and new architecture in a novel way, without sacrificing functional requirements. The completed facility brought new excitement to Roanoke's historic market area and became the impetus for the city's revitalization.

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The Center houses Mill Mountain Theatre, Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts, Roanoke Valley History Museum, Arts Council of the Blue Ridge, and the Science Museum of Western Virginia, which includes a 150-seat planetarium. The center's focal point is the lobby atrium that extends the full height of the five-story building.