The $7.2 million, 41,000-square-foot Arbogast Performing Arts Center in Troy, Ohio, provides space for family and student education, community programming, business events and entertainment, as well as where the Troy Christian Schools hosts plays, concerts, internships and weekly chapel meetings.
Award-winning project shows off versatility of metal building systems
For the community arts center project, Foundation Steel LLC, Swanton, Ohio, erected a 150-foot by 175-foot by 35-foot pre-engineered metal building system from Butler Manufacturing, Kansas City, Mo. Additionally, Butler supplied its MR24 metal roof system and vinyl R-30 insulation. The project also features HCF16-2C metal wall panels from Fabral Inc., Lancaster, Pa., over 5/8-inch DensGlass sheathing underlayment from Georgia-Pacific Building Products, Atlanta, and 6-inch batt insulation with kraft paper face type. Kalzip Inc., Valparaiso, Ind., supplied perforated decorative aluminum screens. Bluescope Construction Inc., Kansas City, served as the broker, and Brentwood Builders Inc., Cedarville, Ohio, was the construction manager.
Foundation Steel used 12-inch charcoal-colored horizontal metal siding for the project. “This smaller size siding was dictated by the darker color,” explains Brad Gordon, estimator and project manager at Foundation Steel. “Smaller, darker siding makes the resulting structure more pleasing to the eye.”
While Gordon says the overall construction went well, keeping the panels level and ensuring all of the vertical joints remained in alignment was challenging. Installing the aluminum frame on top of the exterior screen wall framing, which wraps arounds three sides of the building, was also tricky, he adds.
Additionally, support beams for the center’s second-floor cantilever balcony hang from the building’s main structure, eliminating the need for interior columns to support the balcony. “This ensures there are no sight line obstructions for patrons sitting on the first floor of the auditorium,” Gordon notes.
The project was originally initiated by Troy Christian Schools, one of the region’s largest private school systems, but became community based with an independent board. Funding was through capital campaigns with the Arbogast family providing $2 million of the funds along with $1 million from Premier Health’s Upper Valley Medical Center. Other major donors include Emerson Climate Technologies, Hobart Brothers/Illinois Tool Works Inc. and The Troy Foundation.
The 1,200-seat auditorium opened to a full house on October 30, 2021, with the Texas Tenors. The facility also features room for banquets and meetings, with catering and green rooms available, as well as a café with a coffee bar. Additionally, a recording studio equipped with large recording space, vocal isolation room, drum isolation room and mixing console is expected to be added.