Houston, Texas
Completion Date: April 2011
Owner: Houston Ballet
Program: A six-story, 115,000-square-foot home for the Houston Ballet and its academy, located in the city's theater district. The project includes nine dance studios, a dance laboratory, dressing rooms, a common room, and offices. An open-air pedestrian sky bridge connects the new steel-structure building to the ballet's performance space next door, the Wortham Theater Center.
Design Concept and Solution: Imagining the center as a living billboard for dance, Gensler wanted to create a building that would showcase the activity of the dancers within. The architects drew inspiration from the proscenium stage, stacking double-height rehearsal studios atop each other so that passersby below see the studios framed by the center's black granite facade. The architects continued this framing effect on the inside by surrounding the studios' interior-facing windows with walnut planking. They kept the fixtures and finishes minimal and neutral-toned to further emphasize the activity of the dancers: long, lean lighting strips and clear glass railings (along with the lines of the walnut planking) provide a static backdrop for the movements of the dancers.
Total construction cost: $46 million
Architect:
Gensler
711 Louisiana, Suite 300
Houston, TX 77002
Phone 713.844.0000
Fax 713.844.0001
PeopleOwner: Houston Ballet Architect: Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit: Engineer(s) MEP Engineer: Jacobs Consultant(s) Acoustical and A/V: HFP Theatre Lighting and Rigging: WJHW Security: Ferguson Consulting General contractor: W. S. Bellows Construction Photographer(s) CAD system, project management, or other software used: |
ProductsStructural system: Steel (Myrex Industries) and composite deck Exterior cladding Metal/glass curtainwall: Arrowall/Viracon EIFS, ACM, or other: Cement Plaster Roofing Windows Glazing Doors Wood doors: Algoma/Door Pro Sliding doors: Buffalo Millwork Fire-control doors: WonDoor Hardware Cabinet hardware: Mockett Interior finishes Suspension grid: USG Cabinetwork and custom woodwork: Buffalo Millwork Wood veneer: Crown Veneer Corp. Glass countertop: Bendheim Paints and stains: Benjamin Moore, Glidden Wallcoverings: Carnegie; Donghia Wood Planking: Elmwood Reclaimed Timber black walnut Plastic laminate: Wilsonart, Formica Quartz counters: Dupont Zodiaq Floor and wall tile: Daltile (all tile on project) Limestone floor: Material from Walker Zanger, installed by American Stone Company Cork/rubber flooring: Expanko Stair treads: Chilewich Carpet: Constantine; Tandus; J&J Invision Furnishings Reception furniture: Teknion, Allermuir, Bernhardt, Tuohy Lighting Downlights: Cooper Task lighting: Knoll Controls: Lutron Conveyance Plumbing Add any additional building components or special equipment that made a significant contribution to this project: Dance Lab retractable seating: Audience Systems Bridge stainless steel panels: Forms + Surfaces |
