Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/687429
J UNE 2016 | 89 Studio Bell RENDERING + PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRANDON WALLIS/COURTESY THE NATIONAL MUSIC CENTRE Studio Bell by ROBIN BRUNET W hat a difference $191 million makes. The National Music Centre (NMC), formerly the Cantos Music Foundation, originated as a small museum of keyboard instruments to complement the Calgary International Organ Festival and the Honens International Piano Competition. Today, the new 160,000-square-foot Studio Bell, which houses NMC, redefines the city's architectural capabilities. In fact, Studio Bell is so visually striking that it has the potential of changing Calgary's reputation as a cow town and oil mecca. Goodbye Stetsons, hello concertos, with the facility serving as home to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame Collection, plus space for travelling exhibitions, recording studios and education facilities. The five-storey Allied Works Architecture-designed structure, including a +65 Skybridge spanning 4 Street SE, is built around renowned blues club the King Edward Hotel, which was originally built in 1905, and has since been painstakingly restored. Allied Works' principal Brad Cloepfil says, "In our designs, we try to create transformational spaces, and Studio Bell's nine towers are modelled by gravity and acoustics, and together create a silent and powerful instrument that will emanate music and light." The project was first conceived a decade ago. NMC president and CEO Andrew Mosker explains that he had originally been hired in the 1990s to acquire and manage a collection of musical instruments. By 2005 he became CEO of the newly-formed NMC, which was looking to expand its physical presence. "It was around this time that a light went on in my brain and I realized, wait a second, there is no national music museum in Canada," he says. "The U.S. honours its music heritage extremely well, as does Europe – and even Cuba, but although we have an amazing story we don't have any building to showcase our achievements. "Developing such a facility wasn't on Ottawa's radar, so after the NMC board backed my vision, we decided in typical Alberta fashion to develop the project ourselves." Allied Works' intent was to take visitors on a grand musical journey. Entering Studio Bell's east block, they would be welcomed into a central lobby that opens upward through the building's five levels, and interactive exhibitions and live performances would provide them with an introduction to the building's many resources. Cloepfil created two helical staircases to flank the lobby and fill the interstitial space between the towers; he oriented the main performance hall so that it would overlook the lobby from the second floor and serve as the building's programmatic and structural centre. Meanwhile, exhibition galleries (called "stages" to reflect the centre's music festival-themed visitor experience) would be spread across Studio Bell's five floors, with each stage designed as a place for interaction and exploration, as well as pop-up performances. Each floor was designed for a different theme and intent. On the first level is Canada Music Square, a live music performance space with digital interactives; the second floor provides a mosaic of Canada's music history; the third level stages explore the physiological and emotional dimensions of music, while the fourth gives visitors the opportunity to play different instruments via interactive displays. Finally, visitors to the fifth floor arrive at The Cloud lounge, a rest stop that offers stunning views, as well as a link to the Skybridge, which connects the east and west building blocks back to the King Edward. Not surprisingly, the most difficult aspects of the project were constructing the elaborate towers – and obtaining the approvals to build them. "The facility is as much an art form as an architectural statement, and it posed many code challenges, which ultimately took a year and lots of smoke, fire and other modelling to overcome," says Duke Evans Inc. project manager Gary Duke. Renovation of the King Edward was also a major task, given that the building was in an advanced state of disrepair. "To make matters worse, the flood of 2013 caused further damage and required the hotel to be taken apart brick by brick," says Bill Chomik, senior principal, VP – institutional for Kasian. Simon Brown, principal with Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd., says, "The initial plan was to retain the entire four-storey King Edward structure. Part way through the design process, however, we realized that this was not practical. We ended up designing a new interior structure to support the original exterior brick work." Acting as a direct consultant in local issues and providing construction drawings and overseeing administration, Kasian relied heavily on Revit software, while Allied Works used Rhino modelling and Grasshopper software, "and between the two of us we created coherent and consistent drawings," says Chomik. Chomik calls Allied Works' selection of terracotta tiles for exterior and interior cladding, "A real pioneering effort, a first for Canada. They were hand made in Germany, glazed in Holland, and the fasteners were shipped to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lab in New Hampshire, where they were subjected to wind, ice, heat and other elements to ensure they could withstand the tough Alberta climate." Kamal Parmar, partner at SMP Engineering, notes that the electrical design provided by his company was very flexible as it had to accommodate LOCATION 850 4 Street SE, Calgary, Alberta OWNER/OPERATOR The National Music Centre PROJECT MANAGER Duke Evans Inc. ARCHITECTS Allied Works Architecture / Kasian CONSTRUCTION MANAGER CANA Construction STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Stantec Consulting ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT SMP Engineering ICT/AV CONSULTANT Bell Canada EXHIBITIONS DESIGN & PRODUCTION Haley Sharp Design RECORDING STUDIO DESIGNER Pilchner Schoustal TOTAL SIZE 160,000 square feet TOTAL COST $191 million