Previews and Openings Planned for the National Music Centre of Canada

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May 27, 2016

This fall marks the completion of Allied Works’ most ambitious project to date, Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, in Calgary, Alberta. With 160,000 s.f. of new construction and a complete rehabilitation of the historic, 1905 King Edward Hotel, the NMC will provide space for performances, recording, broadcast, exhibition and interactive education programs. Local audiences will be able to preview the new cultural center beginning in July, with a formal opening and inauguration in October of this year.

Inspired by the dramatic landscapes of Western Canada and the traditions and techniques of instrument construction, Studio Bell rises as nine interlocking towers, modeled by light, gravity and acoustics. Each tower contains distinct volumes, or ‘stages’, that can be used for varied forms of exhibition and performance. Between the towers are intervals or pauses—linked by open, flowing pathways and staircases— that allow visitors to reconnect to the institution and city and prepare for the next encounter.

Spanning two blocks and linked by a fifth-floor skybridge, Studio Bell will serve as a gateway to Calgary’s East Village neighborhood and a catalyst for its regeneration. Pairing historic architecture and artifacts with dynamic new spaces for presentation and cultural engagement, the Centre will unite past and present, audience and performer into a single experience that showcases the power of music and its enduring place within Canada’s cultural heritage.

See new photos of the The National Music Centre: Here

This fall marks the completion of Allied Works’ most ambitious project to date, Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, in Calgary, Alberta. With 160,000 s.f. of new construction and a complete rehabilitation of the historic, 1905 King Edward Hotel, the NMC will provide space for performances, recording, broadcast, exhibition and interactive education programs. Local audiences will be able to preview the new cultural center beginning in July, with a formal opening and inauguration in October of this year.

Inspired by the dramatic landscapes of Western Canada and the traditions and techniques of instrument construction, Studio Bell rises as nine interlocking towers, modeled by light, gravity and acoustics. Each tower contains distinct volumes, or ‘stages’, that can be used for varied forms of exhibition and performance. Between the towers are intervals or pauses—linked by open, flowing pathways and staircases— that allow visitors to reconnect to the institution and city and prepare for the next encounter.

Spanning two blocks and linked by a fifth-floor skybridge, Studio Bell will serve as a gateway to Calgary’s East Village neighborhood and a catalyst for its regeneration. Pairing historic architecture and artifacts with dynamic new spaces for presentation and cultural engagement, the Centre will unite past and present, audience and performer into a single experience that showcases the power of music and its enduring place within Canada’s cultural heritage.

See new photos of the The National Music Centre: Here