Belmont University: Bill and Carole Troutt Theater

About This Project

RBA served as engineering consultant on the renovation project of the Belmont Drama Theatre and provided structural condition surveys and reports. In May 2008, RBA was commended for their outstanding efforts toward the preservation of the architectural heritage of this building by the Historical Commission of Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County. The theatre renovation included foundations, floor framing, balcony level, stage house, elevators, stairs, and front entry stairs. Footings adjacent to the existing structure were dowelled into the existing foundation. New wood framing was required for the balcony floors. The existing steel column supporting the second level was removed from the first level up. The existing columns were used to support the flat plate at the first level. The stage house was constructed of 12″-thick, load-bearing reinforced CMU. The interior stairs are made of steel channels with concrete filled pans, and the front entry stairs are reinforced concrete on-grade up to the first landing and transition to a reinforced framed concrete stair.

This historic church building is university-owned and was previously used as a nursing school. This renovation converted the building into a 350-seat drama theater. Connected by a scene shop, the second theater in the complex is a new Black Box addition that doubles as an experimental theater for smaller productions and as a classroom.

Nashville, Tennessee