2017
About the Client
Ballet Tech, a collaboration between the NYC Department of Education and the Ballet Tech Foundation, combines the best of public education and professional arts instruction. The foundation was founded by Eliot Feld in 1974 after he witnessed a group of young kids dancing on the subway, realizing that the city did not give kids the opportunity to learn classical dance at the low cost of free. Ballet Tech teaches grades 4-12 and has an incredibly diverse student body. Graduates score in the highest percentile in national standardized testing and move onto dance for successful companies.
While the dance school itself is located on 890 Broadway, the purpose of this study was to design a space for members of the school and society to gather, socialize, practice, and perform, as well as employees and administration to organize events and tend to office tasks.
Inspiration: Capturing Movement
Inspiration was taken from the work of photographer Eadward Muybridge and electrical engineer Harold Edgerton, both of whom performed studies that capture movement in varying ways.
Floor Plans
The focus of this 3-week studio design study was to begin to understand how feature stairs, careful space planning, and material applications unify a multi-story building. A furniture layout was encouraged, but optional depending on the needs of the client.
