National Music Center in Calgary by Allied Works

The opening of the new Canadian music center NMC has fulfilled the ambitious visions of director Andrew Mosker, who does not see the new institution merely as a home for a concert hall, radio studio, and museum, but primarily as a distinctive object that will seamlessly connect all these functions and can moreover transform into a musical body. Behind the striking architectural design is the Oregon-based firm Allied Works. From the outside, the building has an impression of being hermetically sealed. Its massive shape arches over 4th Street in the East Village neighborhood. The site originally housed the three-story King Eddy hotel built in 1905. However, after a hundred years, it was facing collapse and had to be closed. Now, the hotel with its blues club has been completely renovated and has served as the foundation for the boldly hovering five-story extension of NMC, which houses a sound laboratory, restoration workshops, recording studios, a hall of fame, and exhibition rooms. The structure consists of a framed steel construction clad in more than 200,000 glazed terracotta tiles with a metallic sheen, which, according to architect Brad Cleopfil, are meant to resemble an instrument that emits light and spatial impulses. The resulting object consists of nine gently curved and interconnected towers. The interior of NMC features a series of curved and vaulted elements. Shiny tiles with a bronze hue enhance sound reflection, and the inner rooms function as a giant instrument amplifying musical effects. The entrance area, rising over four stories, is traversed by a pair of spiral staircases, thereby enhancing not only the sound effects but also the spatial experiences of visitors to the music center.

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