|

Nestling discretely within the rugged topography of Edinburgh's Old Town in the shadow of the castle, Dance Base is more a collection of internal and external rooms than a single building. On a steeply terraced site four dance studios have been placed around a series of courtyards and passageways that reflect the mediaeval pattern of the city and are used to guide movement through the building. Despite their quiet external presence against the city's backdrop, the studios capture generous and unique views of Edinburgh's old town.

The steep south-facing slope is hemmed in by adjoining tenements and the project reuses a number of these existing buildings, integrating a completely new building at the very north of the site, which has support facilities dug into the slope with dance studios above. Each studio occupies a specific place within the cityscape: Studio two sits above the Grassmarket entrance within the shell of an existing building; while the three new spaces vary from the glazed roof of the principal studio, to the two smaller spaces grouped on the highest part of the site, with their split pitch and pyramidal roofs.

The development responds to the wider urban context by including a new stair that connects the Grassmarket to castle and reinstates the prominence of the old city wall. Completed in June 2001, the building was a finalist for the Stirling Prize in 2002.