Ballet Memphis – Performing Arts District Planning Integration
Statement
Ballet Memphis wished to move from a suburban location while expanding its professional capabilities as well increasing its community educational outreach. The site is located within the performing-arts district of the historic Overton Square and is undergoing extensive revitalization. The resulting project was to leave an imprint of inclusivity of culture, the arts and community through transparency and connectivity.
Strategy
The integration of the ground plane with hardscape and landscape elements was used to reinforce the project’s connectivity to the streetscape and human scale elements. Exterior form and composition of multiple layers of materiality, form, shadow and contrasting elements would be ultimately integrated through line, form and void to extend seamlessly exterior to interior once the architecture was realized with a variety of courtyards. Celebration of these strategies through a rigorous use of line and grid enhanced this civic project while enhancing the district and adjacent residential neighborhoods.
“This is a wonderful, contemporary interpretation of the role arts can play in our communities. A simple gem of a civic-oriented facility that engages the public and invites them to dance. ”
