Photo: When complete, the 130,088-square-foot Smith Family Center for Performing Arts will provide a performance venue for the Department of Theatre and Dance, consolidating all of the department’s performances and academic functions into a single area of campus. | Photo Credit: University of Alabama
By Lindsey Coulter
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Earlier this month, the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, celebrated a milestone in the construction of the new Smith Family Center for Performing Arts. University representatives and members of the project team gathered for the project’s topping out ceremony as the final vertical beam was added to the building’s structure. Serving as the new home for the university’s Department of Theatre and Dance, the project is expected to be completed by November 2026 after breaking ground in 2023.
When complete, the 130,088-square-foot Smith Family Center for Performing Arts will provide a performance venue for the Department of Theatre and Dance, consolidating all of the department’s performances and academic functions into a single area of campus. The building will hold a 350-seat drama theater, a 450-seat dance theater and a 250-seat studio theater. These performance spaces will allow for an intimate artist-to-audience connections. Meanwhile, costume, scenery, production and lighting studios sized and equipped to match commercial studios will ensure that design and technical students experience a seamless transition into the professional world. Adjustable acoustics in the drama theatres and precisely engineered floors for dance will allow faculty to train students in facilities equivalent to the ones in which they will be working as professionals. Faculty offices and classrooms for the department will be relocated to the Peter Bryce Main building, which will be connected to the Smith Family Center by its new lobby.
HPM is providing program and project management for construction of the center, working to oversee budget control, scheduling and project management through every phase of construction from planning to closeout. TurnerBatson Architects is serving as the architect on the project, while M.J. Harris Construction Services LLC is serving as the general contractor.
“The Smith Family Center for Performing Arts will be a centerpiece for creativity and learning on campus, and reaching the topping out is a testament to our teams’ expertise and dedication to getting the job done on time,” said Austin Fisher, senior project manager at HPM, in a statement. We look forward to bringing the vision for this facility to life and delivering a space that will inspire generations of students, faculty members and audiences.”
The Performing Arts Academic Center is intended to be a marquee public space for the campus community as well as visitors, bringing student artists, faculty mentors, arts lovers, community members and visitors together to explore the arts in a one-of-a-kind facility.