DMC Dance Theatre
Public Performance
Our design for the Dance and Music Center (DMC) in The Hague is far more than just a stage for the performing arts. Making a grand gesture with its cascading wooden volumes, it’s a performance in itself – an urban composition that transforms the entire building into a stage for the city.
A stage for the city
A stage for the city
Uniting several arts organizations under one roof – including an orchestra, dance company, conservatory and dance school – our center comprises spaces for study, practice and, of course, performance. We therefore based our design on a two-part concept in which the rational meets the expressive. The clear, white structural volumes are devoted to rehearsal and preparation. These spaces are rational, flexible and open, and the white volumes – two ‘walls’ and a ‘roof’ – create an urban spatial composition with the existing buildings in the square. The wooden volumes house the performance spaces and the atrium. In the latter, layers of wooden balconies form an exuberant canyon-like landscape, fronted by glass. It is both a portal into the world of performance inside, and a series of platforms offering wonderful views of the city.
Our design makes a complex program work in a simple way.
Ground floor
4th floor
5th floor
6th floor
