Skanska, a leading global construction and development firm, has completed the construction of Radford University’s Artis Center for Adaptive Innovation and Creativity (Artis Center). The Artis Center serves as the new home to the university’s College of Visual and Performing Arts and provides unique learning and collaboration spaces for students in the Waldron College of Health and Human Services and the College of Nursing. The new 178,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility is the largest capital construction project in Radford’s history and the largest academic building on the campus.
“The completion of the Artis Center for Adaptive Innovation and Creativity represents a pivotal shift in educational infrastructure on the campus and showcases the future of interdisciplinary learning and research,” said Mark Balling, general manager and executive vice president overseeing Skanska’s operations in North Carolina and Virginia. “We’re proud to have partnered with Radford University to bring this visionary project to life.”
The Artis Center’s exterior façade fuses the historic elements of the original campus buildings with modern metal and glass features, complementing recently constructed facilities along the campus’ Main Street. Designed to foster interdisciplinary study and collaboration between students, faculty and staff in various programs, the four-story Artis Center houses a breathtaking 500-seat proscenium theatre, a 200-seat studio theatre, a performance hub with learning stairs and a courtyard with an amphitheater. Additionally, the facility has over 60 distinct learning spaces including:
- Fashion and interior design labs
- Health sciences clinical labs
- Painting and drawing studios
- Music and dance studios
- Maker and printer spaces
- Virtual and augmented reality labs
- Modern classrooms and collaboration rooms
- Costume shop, theater design lab and scene Shop
Skanska’s successful completion of the Artis Center further reaffirms its reputation as a leader in education construction, delivering complex, large-scale projects that meet the evolving needs of higher education institutions. The firm previously constructed the award-winning Radford fitness and wellness center. The facility’s signature element is a sloped running track on the mezzanine levels that offers a 360-degree view of the campus and is mirrored on the building’s exterior through a glass curtain wall system and roofline which are sloped to match the incline of the track.
Operating from a regional headquarters in Durham, North Carolina, Skanska currently has more than $1.4 billion worth of projects in progress between North Carolina and Virginia.
About Skanska
Skanska uses knowledge & foresight to shape the way people live, work, and connect. More than 135 years in the making, we’re one of the world’s largest development and construction companies. We operate in select markets throughout the Nordics, Europe and the United States. Skanska in the U.S. is headquartered in New York City with 28 offices around the country. In 2023, construction in the U.S. generated $7.1 billion in revenue, and as a developer in the U.S., Skanska has invested a total value of $4.6 billion in commercial and multi-family projects. Together with our customers and the collective expertise of our 6,500 teammates in the U.S. and 27,000 globally, we create innovative and sustainable solutions that support healthy living beyond our lifetime.
