Siobhan Davies Studios London, Dance Space, Architecture, Photos, News, Architect

Siobhan Davies Studios

Dance Space in London building design by Sarah Wigglesworth Architects, UK

12 Jan 2011

Design: Sarah Wigglesworth Architects

Address: 85 St George’s Rd, London SE1 6ER, England, United Kingdom

Phone: 020 7091 9650

Siobhan Davies Studios in London

photograph © Richard Bryant

Siobhan Davies Studios London

“The new building has grown out of a collaboration with the Siobhan Davies Dance that has now lasted ten years. We started by spending a lot of time in the studio with the dancers, watching how they work and learning what they need.

The existing building dictated that the main studio should be on the roof and we were excited by the notion of how it would feel to dance high above the city. We had a clear notion from the outset that the dancers should have daylight and be aware of the changing environment around them but that the space should be focussed and inspiring. We also wanted to create a public foyer that felt like a landscape, with the exterior entering the building.

We began designing by thinking about how both dancers and architects use their bodies to describe space, how the body has always been a scale by which we measure space and how both bodies and buildings work in and environment subject to gravity. We were excited to make use of an existing structure because it gave us something very tangible, tough and muscular to work our ideas against.

photograph © Richard Bryant

Inspired by the body, our approach was to use the robustness of the old building as a ‘ground’ for making quite radical changes and adding new elements that were a complete contrast to it. The billowing ribbons of the main studio’s shells were gravity-defying forms that seem to swell and float above the plane the dancers dance on. The main stair is hung from the roof, its tensioned cables stretched like tendons as they hover over the concrete ground. The changing rooms are like cocoons from which ordinary people emerge as dancers. In the foyer the memory of the old is refashioned as layers of old finishes are stripped from the wall and fresh layers added.

photo © Richard Bryant

We used materials that were both soft and hard, contrasting these as appropriate. Colours are used for their differences. Sensuousness is juxtaposed with puritanism and pattern with purity.”

Sarah Wigglesworth

Siobhan Davies Studios – Design Team

The design team for Siobhan Davies Studios was led by Sarah Wigglesworth Architects, one of the UK’s foremost emerging architects. The design team also included: quantity surveyors Boyden and Company, structural engineers Price and Myers, acoustic consultant Paul Gillieron Acoustic Design, access consultants All Clear Designs and IT and telecommunications consultant Art Data Systems.

The main contractor for the Siobhan Davies Studios project was Rooff Ltd, a medium scale London construction company.

photo © Richard Bryant

Siobhan Davies Studios – Contact

85 St George’s Road, London, SE1 6ER, UK

Telephone: 020 7091 9650

Siobhan Davies Studios images / information from Siobhan Davies Studios

Sarah Wigglesworth Architects

Location: 85 St George’s Road, London, SE1 6ER, England, UK

London Buildings

Contemporary London Architecture

London Architecture Designs – chronological list

London Architectural Tours by e-architect guides

London Architects Offices – design studio listings

Sarah Wigglesworth Architects

Sarah Wigglesworth Architects are experts in low energy and sustainable construction and dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and innovation in design and service. They work on the boundaries between theory and practice, seeking innovative design solutions which address current social and cultural agendas. They are interested in the process by which architecture comes about and view each project as an opportunity for a new exchange of interests and ideas.

Siobhan Davies Studios – Dance Space

Key Designs by SWA:

Cremorne Riverside Centre, London

image from architects
Cremorne Riverside Centre – cor-ten project