An Architectural Response to Movement

In an effort to bolster Old Town Alexandria Virginia's burgeoning reputation as a mecca for the arts, I chose to design a dance center, set in what is currently a large parking lot adjacent to King Street's terminus at the Potomac River. Given the importance of movement to my site, especially in terms of pedestrians and the Potomac River, a dance center is a fitting building type.

To aid in crafting a cohesive building that spoke to both the demands of the site and the programmatic needs of a dance center, I looked to movement as the answer to all design quandaries: movement as thesis. I developed a stepped parti- a concept informed by strategies to invite, accommodate, and glorify movement. All elements of the building reinforce this parti to create a holistic building. The building follows the ascension of a primary staircase, and is supported by a multitude of columns, simultaneously reminiscent of a corps de ballet and an enchanted forest, both staples in the classical story ballet.