The building is designed to engage the public in movement, culture, and connection to the community. It houses rehearsal space for the professional company, a dance school for over 200 children, and community dance and pilates classes. The largest rehearsal studio also doubles as a performance venue. The copper screen sits at the historic street edge—enhancing the urban experience within an entertainment district—while complying with current city codes and setbacks. The building’s façade offers opportunities for the community to participate in the organization, via exterior courtyards, retail experiences, and a café, and a costume shop featuring a display window/mini-performance place.
The courtyard spaces offer opportunities for the community to engage with the school, and also break the scale of the large building down to suit the context. The exterior form, composed of layers of glass, perforated copper, and volumes of contrasting metal evokes the character of a music box. Gauzy screens and courtyards that penetrate the building mass both mask and reveal the activity of dancers within. Warm and neutral materials alongside cool colors are also used to frame and display activity and the dancers.
Dance and architecture share a focus on movement, space and time. Celebrating these disciplines, through this civic project, enhances its growing entertainment district and the adjacent residential neighborhoods. Credits: - Grinder, Taber & Grinder - General Contractor - Brett Grinder Credits: - Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. - civil and structural engineer - DALHOFF THOMAS design studio - landscape designer - DePouw Engineering - electrical engineer - Grinder, Taber & Grinder - general contractor - Innovative Engineering Services - mechanical engineer Credits: - Talaske - Acoustical/AV - Innovative Engineering Services - Mechanical and Plumbing - Schuler Shook - Theater Planner - Grinder, Taber & Grinder - General Contractor - SSR - Civil - DePouw Engineering - Electrical - Dalhoff Thomas - Landscape - SSR - Structural