Leading the dance - London Contemporary Dance School - Brief Article

Architectural Review, The, June, 2001 by Penny Mcguire

A new extension to a famous dance centre in the King's Cross district of London rationalizes a rather difficult site, adds spacious new studios, and provides a shop window that establishes its presence locally.

The London Contemporary Dance School is to be found at The Place in a quiet backwater off busy Euston Road. Established in 1969 by philanthropist Robin Howard, The Place has become one of the world's famous dance centres. Its theatre was created out of the old Drill Hall of the Artists' Rifles, constructed in 1889 and listed by English Heritage. A landmark in the King's Cross Partnership area, it opens onto the tiny Georgian oasis of Duke's Road (built with the adjoining Woburn Walk in the 1820s by Thomas Cubitt as part of the Bedford Estate). Behind, and to the east of, the theatre, dressing rooms and ancillary spaces, is the dance centre, housed for most of its life in a triangular warren of buildings converted at various times into studios, classrooms and offices.

Equipped with money from the National Lottery (through the Arts Council) and a grant from King's Cross Partnership, The Place has been undergoing much-needed improvements by Allies and Morrison. Pressure on space and facilities had become acute. The centre, open seven days a week from early morning until late in the evening, is used by great numbers of students and professional performers, and has to house around 80 staff.

Work is being carried out in two phases. The first, now completed, has provided a new building to the north and east of the triangle. Entrance is through a three-storey glass fronted stair tower, facing east and visible from a distance -- particularly at night when illuminated, Glass balconies between landings act as stretching zones so from the street you see silhouetted dancers in motion, figures superimposed one above the other. This tower is the centre's shop window, advertising its presence to the neighbourhood.

Landings lead to new studios contained in a building to the north hard up against the back wall of a hotel block running along Euston Road. There are two large airy studios on each of the two levels, and another pair excavated out of the ground.

Every part of this workmanlike scheme is permeated by the quiet architectural intelligence characteristic of this practice. From the beginning, the architects worked closely with their professional clients to work out proportions and details (like the specially designed studio barres, in section shaped like an inverted egg to make them easier to grasp correctly).

Studio walls on the north, facing straight onto the hotel, are made of glass blocks which diffuse light while maintaining privacy; and these translucent walls are supplemented elsewhere by strategically placed windows admitting the exterior. For the dancers these studios are introverted places for intense concentration, but any sense of claustrophobia is dissipated by the subliminal impression of light, air and reflection off sprung floors and mirrored walls.

Services -- ventilation and acoustic separation -- are carried by the concrete structure. On the lower ground floor, it was possible to eliminate the heavy central wall and replace it with a folding screen to create one enormous space. This phase also included refurbishing and generally tidying up the existing building. Phase two consists of work to the theatre and is due for completion by this autumn. P. M.

Architects

Allies and Morrison Architects, London

Project architects

Bob Allies, Graham Morrison, Eddie Taylor, Paul Appleton, Jo Bacon, Ben Elsdon, Stuart King, Adrian Morrow, Jane Parker, Oliver Ralphs, Pauline Stockmans, Ria Summerhayes

Structural engineer

Price and Myers

Services engineer

Max Fordham & Partners

Photographs

Dennis Gilbert/VIEW