The new Arts Building is almost completed, and students are expected to occupy it this fall.
"The spaces here in the new Arts Building are cutting-edge. They're not just like what's standard in the field now, but we've looked ahead to where it will be in the future," Megan Sanborn Jones, PhD, department chair of theater and media arts, said.
The new Arts Building has four theaters, including the mainstage, studio, black box and cinema theaters.
The cinema theater will be the first Dolby Atmos theater in the state, giving the theater 360-degree sound effects.
"Rather than just going up and down, in a typical Dolby theater it will be able to go around as well," Eric Gillett, associate dean of the design department, said.
The building also includes large rehearsal spaces, makeup rooms, changing rooms and set building space.
It is expected to host more than 500 performances each year.
The building also has art galleries and classrooms designed to give art and design students an environment to create and display their work.
"The way that this building was designed and engineered allows for so much natural light and natural elements that these design and art students can take advantage of." Suzanne Campbell, assistant dean of external relations, said.
Campbell said the building also includes nods to the original HFAC building, including the terrazzo stairs and benches.
The building benefits students from all majors by being a conveniently located gathering place.
"One of the things that's really unique about this building is the access that all of campus has to it. It's centered perfectly between the Wilkinson Center, the library and the Museum of Art, which gives access straight up the hill to where all the dorms are," Jones said. "And it's our hope that students, when they're coming onto campus from the north, that they'll want to come through and walk through this warm and beautiful building to see what the offerings are, to look at the art on the walls and then head down the stairs out onto Brigham Square and the main part of campus."
From the state-of-the-art theaters and production spaces to the fine arts galleries, the new Arts Building will give art, design and theater students an environment to create spectacular work.