Renderings courtesy of Spectrum Design

This artist's rendering shows Roanoke's Center in the Square facade restored to its original 1917 appearance. Market stalls were not included in the rendering so that the entire facade renovation could be seen, architects said.

Renderings courtesy of Spectrum Design

Odds are you've never seen a roof like this before. There's a goldfish pond and a glass cage full of butterflies. Plants grow on the walls. A "technology garden" will give demonstrations of solar heat and wind power.

This is the proposed new roof for Center in the Square in downtown Roanoke. Largely an extension of the Science Museum of Western Virginia, it has yet to be approved by the Center board, let alone funded.

But if all goes according to plan, it will be opened to the public along with the rest of the reinvented downtown arts and cultural complex in about 2¹₂ years, according to Center President Jim Sears.

Center first announced plans for a makeover, costing $20 million to $25 million, last spring. It also released early drawings showing a revamped lobby, exterior modifications and changes to the roof. At the time, Sears said Center's renovation along with the new Taubman Museum of Art opening two blocks away would "put Roanoke on the map" for arts and culture. The museum opened Nov. 8.

Some of Center's second floor space, which was vacated in the summer by the art museum, is slated to be taken over by the Harrison Museum of African American Culture once renovation work is complete. Restaurants currently arrayed around the outside of the building, including the Roanoke Weiner Stand and the Little Dipper, would remain a part of the building, though in a different configuration.

In some ways, Center's proposed makeover is a return to the past, with the exterior of the building restored to its original 1917 look, as determined by historic photographs. But the roof is something else again. Detailed plans released this week reveal a kind of rooftop wonderland -- half learning laboratory, half park. The two-tier rooftop by Spectrum Design also includes a cafe and outdoor dining areas, as well as an observation deck and fireplace.

"This really becomes a seven-story building, not a five-story building," Sears said. "You'll feel like you're in a natural history museum. It'll be a tremendous view of the area."

Center has been quietly working to raise about $6 million for the renovation work. The city approved $1.5 million for the project this week.

The rest will be paid for using historic and new market tax credits, Sears said. He said the weak economy might slow but not stop the project, which he hopes can be put out for construction bids in the spring. Only then, Sears said, will Center really know how much of the roof is financially feasible, though he's hoping it can all be done.

"We feel very positive about our ability to fund this project even in the difficult economic times." Sears said. "I think we'll get a good bid on this."

Many questions remain unanswered, including hours of operation, those close to the project said. The cafe space does double duty as a classroom space, raising questions about how much the cafe could be open to the general public. Sears said there will be no fee to visit the roof .

"A lot of this is in the planning stages," said Nancy McCrickard, executive director of the science museum. The science museum is in the midst of its own $5 million fundraising campaign to pay for new exhibits.

McCrickard said Center's roof design would echo the science museum's new three-part focus on "Healthy Bodies," "Healthy Earth" and "How it Works."

In fact, McCrickard and Sears said, the entire redesigned building would become much more of an educational tool, with interactive exhibits and a large aquarium in the lobby to complement the innovative roof. "We're basically bringing this building to life," McCrickard said.

David Bandy, director of design and vice president for Spectrum Design, said a renovated Center in the Square would echo other changes happening downtown, while also restoring the 91-year-old building's original appearance on the outside. The rooftop would be hidden from passers-by below by a retaining wall, though it would be visible from Interstate 581.

"It's not just a stuffy old building," Bandy said. "You've got your past and your future, and it's all kind of beautifully entwined together."