Mecanoo designed the new Dance and Music Centre as a transparent, functional culture tower with an ingenious stacking of functions. The tower stands as a cultural beacon in the city and rests on a plinth with an elevated park. The theatres and the Conservatory are raised, creating a transparent plinth with restaurants, shops and a two storey entrance hall on the square.
Like a grand showcase, the building exhibits all of its cultural functions. This is not a closed theatre box, but an open and inviting building full of vitality; palpable and visible from the Spui Square. From afar the building’s theatrical lighting at night draws in the audience. The large concert hall of the Residence Orchestra is 60 meters above the square with a spectacular view over the city. Six levels below lies the small concert hall, the heart of music education, with the dance department directly below, both a part of the Royal Conservatory.
The dynamic of having the escalators located within the facade offers the public a constantly changing view of the city and the building. In the entrance hall is a continuous coming and going of students, dancers, musicians and visitors. A student orchestra gives a free coffee concert in the hall.
You can sneak a glimpse at what is going in the Dance Theatre and at rehearsals in the small theatre of the Conservatory.
