A few months ago, Allied Works Architecture has been selected to design the Cantos National Music Centre in Calgary, Alberta, following an international design competition. The project will revitalize the historic King Edward Hotel and provide 80,000 sf of new space for music education, performance, recording and exhibition of the Cantos Music Foundation’s growing collection.
The project will mark the first stage of the redevelopment of Calgary’s East Village and the creation of a new music district in the historic heart of the city.
The Extraordinary Instrument
Buildings, as distinct from all other arts, carry a particular silent power that is rendered more potent in a time when all media, all information, and all voices attempt to speak at higher and higher decibels. Rather than seek novelty in form, architecture must create inspired experience. When we build we provide measure and reference for society, but more, buildings amplify our perceptions, understanding and aspirations. The more specific and focused the act of building, the more significant its impact upon individuals and the more profound its participation within our cities. It is this essence, revealed in the architecture, which will resonate within a culture and endure through time.
The National Music Centre is an extraordinary instrument, silent and powerful, brought to life by its programs, collections and performances. The new building forms rise as sentinels around the re-born King Eddy, marking the entry to the East Village and new Music District. The towers are beautifully crafted cases that hold the specific potential of a rich musical experience. The building, a gathering of resonant vessels, exists to be ‘played’ – to emanate music, light and activity.
The new design draws from the iconic landscapes of Canada: evoking the canyons and mountains of the west, the silence of the prairies and the energy and diversity of urban space. These forces and influences are concentrated into the National Music Centre, creating a spirit of architecture that inspires and renews.
Inside, new experiences that synthesize architecture, music and interactive media unfold. More than an empty vessel for the programs and collections, the building is the bridge between audience and performer, student and teacher, the body and the collection. It invites inquiry and experimentation, and is a point of contact between hands, minds, materials and ideas.
Like a well-crafted instrument, the architecture is capable of a wide range of expression, and holds the potential to create profound, personal and moving experience.
