The $100-million, 130,000-sq-ft Center for the Arts was developed as part of an effort to enhance the presence and practice of the arts at Virginia Tech. The project features a fully renovated Shultz Hall and new building additions, which house the Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre and the Collaborative Performance Lab, known as The Cube. The Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre is a six-story, 1,300-person multipurpose performance hall with a nine-story fly space. The three-story Cube is a modified black box theater and experimental performance space.
Shultz Hall was demolished to its shell before being outfitted with performance, research, production and educational spaces. Mechanical acoustical features include low-velocity ductwork to control noise in auxiliary spaces and an under-floor air distribution system to minimize sound and provide comfort. This was constructed in an existing building that previously had minimal air conditioning and low floor-to-floor heights.