The project brief requested the design of a dance studio to be located in Rome, near to the Piazza Navona. The site was a block in a tall terraced street that looked out into a small vegetated piazza.

 

The ground floor was designed as an extension of the piazza, open to the public, passers by were invited in to have a snack at the cafe and browse the activities available and upcoming performances. With the performance theatre located in the basement the upper floors housed dance studios and the student common room.The internal environment required deliberation considering the energetic activities that were to take place.

 

An atrium at the back of the plot, topped with an adjustable solar jigsaw roof, not only provided natural light to the recesses of the building but induced a constant stack effect ventilating the interior. The air that entered from the quiet street, therefore not polluted, was pre-cooled by the water feature at the base of the atrium. A parkour area was placed on the roof which was specifically designed with an enthusiast.