flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Richmond CenterStage, Richmond, Va.

Richmond CenterStage, Richmond, Va.


By By Jay W. Schneider, Editor | October 12, 2010

The Richmond CenterStage opened in 1928 in the Virginia capital as a grand movie palace named Loew’s Theatre. It was reinvented in 1983 as a performing arts center known as Carpenter Theatre and hobbled along until 2004, when the crumbling venue was mercifully shuttered. There were plans for a comprehensive historic restoration but the funding never materialized.

The complex was finally started on its path toward restoration in 2007, when the Richmond CenterStage Foundation secured the $62.2 million necessary to finance the rehab. 

With the Building Team of Wilson Butler Architects and Gilbane/Christman (CM) at the helm, the 148,245-sf historic theater wasn’t simply restored: It was reimagined, enlarged, and upgraded. The new 179,000-sf complex became home to four venues:

• Carpenter Theatre: the fully restored, original 1,760-seat auditorium with enlarged stage and an expanded lobby area.

• Gottwald Playhouse: a 200-seat black box theater.

• Genworth BrightLights Education Center: a training space for aspiring thespians.

• Rhythm Hall: a multipurpose venue. 

The building’s extra square footage came from annexing the former six-story Thalhimers Department Store (circa 1939) adjacent to the theater, demolishing parts of the building, and gutting the remainder. The former retail space was transformed into the additional performance and education venues, offices, dressing rooms, and other support spaces.

The conjoined buildings featured a variety of exterior materials, notably brick, terra cotta, and limestone, all in need of attention. The façades were repaired, two new curtain walls were installed in portions of the complex, and new windows and storefront systems were added along one side. Inside, modern acoustical, lighting, rigging, and building system improvements were installed.

The project reopened in September 2009 and became what Walker C. Johnson, FAIA, principal at Johnson Lasky Architects, Chicago, and honorary chair of BD+C’s Reconstruction Awards panel, called “a real sparkler in downtown Richmond.” BD+C

PROJECT SUMMARY

Building Team

Submitting firm: Gilbane/Christman (CM)

Owner/developer: City of Richmond

Architect: Wilson Butler Architects

MEP engineer: Girard Engineering

Structural engineer: Dunbar, Milby, Williams, Pittman and Vaughan

General Information

Size: 179,000 gsf

Construction cost: $62.2 million

Construction period: June 2007 to September 2009

Delivery method: CM at risk

Related Stories

Architects | Oct 31, 2017

AIA selects recipients for the 2017 Innovation Awards

The program honors projects that highlight collaboration between design and construction teams to create better process efficiencies and overall costs savings.

Giants 400 | Oct 30, 2017

Top 130 green architecture firms

Gensler, Stantec, and HOK top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest green sector architecture and AE firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.

Architects | Oct 30, 2017

City 2050: What will your city look like in 2050?

What do we think the future will look like 30 years or so from now? And what will City: 2050 be like?

Architects | Oct 25, 2017

Mason & Hanger appoints Ben Lilly as its new president

The firm expects to continue mining growth opportunities with its federal agency clients.  

Healthcare Facilities | Oct 25, 2017

Creating child-friendly healthcare spaces: Five goals for success

Children often accompany parents or grandparents in medical settings; what can we do to address their unique needs?

Giants 400 | Oct 24, 2017

Top 160 reconstruction architecture firms

Gensler, Jacobs, and Stantec top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest reconstruction sector architecture and AE firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.

Giants 400 | Oct 20, 2017

Top 40 sports architecture firms

Populous, HOK, and HKS top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest sports sector architecture and AE firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.

Giants 400 | Oct 19, 2017

Race for talent drives office designs

Is the shift toward attracting younger workers too much or not enough?

Sponsored | Designers | Oct 18, 2017

Universal design principles: Part 2

The CDC targets the bathroom as the most dangerous room in the house. Architects can use principles of Universal Design (UD)  to reduce these hazards. 

Giants 400 | Oct 17, 2017

Top 110 office architecture firms

Gensler, Jacobs, and HOK top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest office sector architecture and AE firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category



Urban Planning

The magic of L.A.’s Melrose Mile

Great streets are generally not initially curated or willed into being. Rather, they emerge organically from unintentional synergies of commercial, business, cultural and economic drivers. L.A.’s Melrose Avenue is a prime example. 


Curtain Wall

7 steps to investigating curtain wall leaks

It is common for significant curtain wall leakage to involve multiple variables. Therefore, a comprehensive multi-faceted investigation is required to determine the origin of leakage, according to building enclosure consultants Richard Aeck and John A. Rudisill with Rimkus. 

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021