Dance, architecture and sustainability - DIALOG for DJD in Calgary

Decidedly Jazz Danceworks (DJD) is a jazz dance school that needed new spaces. So, DIALOG created rooms for the DJD Dance Centre as part of an overall expansion of the Kahanoff Centre in Calgary with a new, 12-floor tower. All designed for certification to LEED standards!


Decidedly Jazz Danceworks ((DJD) has been the go-to school for jazz dance in Calgary since the '80s and has worked hard to innovate and evolve this art form and take it around the world. The moment had arrived to give the school an architectural connotation, taking advantage of the expansion of the Kahanoff Centre with a new, 12-storey tower to boost the offer of functional spaces for community activities.
The new DJD Dance Centre occupies the bottom six floors, while the remainder is intended for offices for Canadian non-profit organisations. Inspiration for the design came from the client, working with the team from Canadian firm DIALOG, which for more than 50 years has been operating in the field of design, interfacing between dance professionals, students, other artists and the general public to be able experience together the joy of dancing and music as you can see in the video:

The dance studios are open to the city, in order to inspire creativity for the people inside who can enjoy the fantastic views over the urban panorama and to be a source of creative energy for the district. At night in particular, when most of the classes are held, the illuminated tower turns into a magic lantern where you can see the movement of the dancers. This effect is emphasised by the public art that occupies the building's top two floors: the “Take the Cake” installation created by the artistic team Hadley + Maxwell. The artists worked with the dancers to craft the images using a sophisticated light effects that create the illusion of movement of the representations
While the visual impact in the urban context is powerful and refined, the environmental impact of the new DJD Dance Centre has been designed for certification to LEED standards. A sustainable target reached first of all by using durable materials like exposed concrete, steel and glass. Lighting is entirely LED, including the lighting system in the 250-seat theatre on the second floor. A low velocity stratified air system improves internal comfort, energy performance and for the acoustic benefit of a quieter HVAC system. 
The DJD Dance Centre designed by DIALOG becomes a landmark for the cultural activities in the centre of Calgary, a tangible symbol of the school's initiative to “bring dance to the streets” that benefits both users and the broader community.

Christiane Bürklein

Project: DIALOG - http://www.dialogdesign.ca/
CLients: The Kahanoff Centre +  DJD Dance Centre
Location: Calgary, Canada
Year: 2017
Images: Erna Peter Photography
Find out more: http://www.decidedlyjazz.com/djd-dance-centre/
Thanks to v2com