Project Description
HCM is designing the new Center for Adaptive Innovation & Creativity for Radford University. The new 197,000 sf building is designed to merge health education, research, creativity and new technology to meet ever-evolving challenges of the future. The building includes a 450 seat proscenium theater, black box studio, sceen shop and multiple dressing rooms. Supporting the theater programs are active learning classrooms, nursing education spaces, studios and laboratories, in addition to multi-use environments such as maker spaces, simulation and virtual and augmented reality laboratories.
Due to the building’s location and mix of academic uses, the building also serves as a campus hub.
At the center of the building is a multi-story performance hub and cafe, designed as a gathering space for students and visitors to the campus. It serves as a dining area, study and collaborative work area, an informal music and performance space and a general gathering space. Multiple studios and flexible spaces are located along both levels of hub that open to it and showcase the student learning, creativity and innovation taking place in the building.
The program and design are based on encouraging the variety of academic program spaces to be visible and co-located with other uses. This is achieved through the use of interior glazing, barn doors and interior operable partitions. This cross-disciplinary design creates a building that is vibrant and extremely efficient.