Studio Bell bridges over 4 Street SE at the eastern edge of downtown Calgary.
PROJECT Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre

ARCHITECTS Allied Works Architecture with Kasian Architecture (Associate Architect)

TEXT Graham Livesey

PHOTOS Jeremy Bittermann, unless otherwise noted
The new Studio Bell, home to the National Music Centre in Calgary, is an architectural tour-de-force. It?s one of the most spectacular buildings constructed in North America during the last decade. The recipient of a Progressive Architecture Award from Architect Magazine in 2014, it?s the most ambitious and accomplished project to date by Allied Works, who worked with associate architect Kasian to realize the design. And despite its American design pedigree, the project is very worthy of Canada?s newest national institution, one of several outside of Ottawa-Hull. The overall form of the building combines a gateway with a fortress; it is an urban block that tightly fills its site. A striking feature is the bridging element that straddles the street and is seamlessly integrated into the overall building. Clad in terracotta tile, the exterior is monolithic and relatively mute. The flat surfaces of the façade are a charcoal colour, while the sweeping curved elements are finished in a gold-coloured tile that extends into the interiors.
Complex interstitial spaces slice through the design, generating a wealth of intriguing views from many vantage points throughout the building.
The hallucinogeni...