Glenn Howells Architects has built a dance school for the English National Ballet, with windows in its translucent white cladding that give glimpses of rehearsals.
The £36 million centre is located on London City Island, a peninsula on the Thames being developed by EcoWorld and Ballymore.

Built on a site sandwiched between two residential towers, it brings together several previously disparate functions of the institution.
It combines spaces for the English National Ballet (ENB) school alongside studio, costume, medical and production facilities all on a relatively small site.

Glenn Howells Architects designed bright, open spaces for the dance studios.
"The key has been designing the building so that its character is defined by a celebration of exposed raw materials such as concrete ceilings and translucent glass walls," said the practice's director and founder Glenn Howells.
The ground floor of the centre is surrounded by concrete columns and wrapped in clear glazing.
It opens out to the street with a public café and retail areas.

There are plans for an exhibition space here to increase interaction between the school and the company.
Entering through this cafe, the three levels of the centre are linked by a dramatic full-height stairwell.

This stairwell is the "soul of the building" said the studio, pulling light into the foyer through a large skylight.
At the centre of the plan is the main production studio, which runs the entire height of the ...