The new Wolfe Center For The Arts at Bowling Green State University provides a space on campus where the arts can flourish and robust interdisciplinary collaborations can take root. Rising dramatically from a flat site, the building’s metal panels – supplied by CENTRIA - and tilted geometry have introduced a completely new aesthetic to an otherwise traditional group of campus buildings.

In addition to being a place for students and faculty to learn and work on theatrical, dance, musical, film and digital arts productions, the center offers the Bowling Green, Ohio community an exceptional venue for a wide range of performances.

The building has a 400 seat proscenium stage and arch stadium that can house all kinds of theatrical and operative performances. The space also boasts a flexibly designed 200-seat actors theater, production support areas, departmental offices and electronic recording studio. It is located between the School of Art and College of Musical Arts and surrounded by green common spaces that can facilitate the creative exchanges between students and faculty that are crucial for dynamic progress in the arts.

The building also has an impressive fly tower that rises 75 feet above the campus, sheathed in glass and well-lit from within. The building’s location creates an artistic corridor that brims with creative possibility while the fly tower’s vibrant column of light boldly announces that the Wolfe Center is a beacon of the arts throughout the campus, community and region.

Unique and precise architectural elements are necessary for performing arts centers to ensure acoustic levels and that the audience experience is fully optimized. With the inclusion of classrooms, departmental offices and practice spaces, architects had an even bigger challenge to ensure each environment would be conducive to its ultimate purpose. CENTRIA’s metal wall and roof panels were a strong choice since they are known for their performance, aesthetics, sustainability and value.

Formawall Dimension Series panels offer increased span capability, saving on support costs since less framing is required. The panels are still lightweight, allowing easy, one-step installation and minimizing foundation load. An integrated rainscreen with pressure-equalized and vented dry sealed joinery provides long-term protection with minimal maintenance, while an integrated air and vapor barrier, comprised of steel liners and unexposed, protected sealant, eliminates building wraps and vapor barriers. Concealed clip installation provides fast close-in and removes the need for exterior gypsum sheathing. Critical for an educational facility, the panels are also protected against mold food sources by the factory foamed-in-place core that eliminates insulation gaps.

CENTRIA’s SRS panels provide outstanding performance with a unique concealed clip and panel interlock design that allows for unimpeded thermal movement without damage. The panels also provide clean, unbroken lines with minimal exposed fasteners, continuous transitions and long panel lengths.

The project architects were Snohetta of New York, NY, and The Collaborative of Toledo, OH; the CENTRIA products dealer/installer was C.L. Rieckhoff of Taylor, MI; and the contractor was Rudolph Libbe of Walbridge, OH. The total project size was 92,000 sq. ft.

CENTRIA products used on this project included:

• Formawall® Dimension® Series. Color: Silversmith; Finish: Smooth; Coating: Sundance Mica; Gauge: 22.

• Structural Roof Systems 3. Color: Charcoal Gray; Finish: Smooth; Coating: Fluorofinish; Gauge: 22.

• Structural Roof Systems 2. Color: Silversmith; Finish: Smooth; Coating: Sundance Mica; Gauge: 22.