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Interior Design and Furniture Procurement for the English National Ballet in London
The English National Ballet needed a new-build headquarters at London City Island, near Canning Town, to house the full breadth of a working dance company under one roof including dance studios, reception lobby and café, the ENB School, a feature green room, staff offices, wardrobe, changing rooms, and numerous support spaces. We were selected as interior designers via a competitive presentation and concept pitch, working alongside Howells (formally Glenn Howells Architects).
The Challenge
Our Response
The design was shaped by extensive stakeholder consultation from the outset, involving staff from every department, world-famous Artistic Director Tamara Rojo, and a representative of the dance company. That process directly informed features tailored to dancers' real working lives including sleeping pods for off-duty dancers and a sunken soft "pit" for stretching and relaxing between rehearsals. The commission extended beyond interior design to include the full furniture procurement process.
The Outcome
The result is a multiple award-winning headquarters that has been widely recognised across the industry, including the RIBA National Award 2021, RIBA London Building of the Year 2021, the Civic Trust Award 2021, the Chicago Athenaeum Award 2021, the RICS Social Impact Award 2020, the AJ100 Building of the Year 2020, and the American Institute of Architects UK Design Award 2020.
Photography by Hufton + Crow.
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