Marshall University Visual Arts Center
Huntington, West Virginia

Previously without a dedicated building for the School of Art and Design classes, the university purchased the 6 story plus basement, 100+ year old building formerly home of the Anderson-Newcomb Department Store in downtown Huntington. The 66,000 sq ft building was renovated and repurposed for studio and classroom space, administrative offices, and a 2,200 sq ft gallery with nearly 150 ft of linear display space. There are retail options on the ground floor. The original hardwood floors remained in the building where possible.

Steel braced frames were installed to provide a lateral force resisting system that complied with the current building code and unique details were developed to create a continuous load path for lateral loads acting on the building. A large platform was provided above the roof to support new HVAC equipment and a basement column was removed to install the emergency generator. A transfer girder and foundation reinforcement allowed for column removal on an upper floor to create a large, open classroom space.

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