This ballet studio in Japan by Y+M Layout Office is topped by a big pointed roof with curving eaves and is lifted over the ground by a small cement-rendered podium .
Kobe-based Y+M Design Office created the ballet college for a residence-sized plot in a residential neighbourhood of Tokushima, a city located across the water from the firm’s studio on Japan’s Shikoku island.
A glazed dance studio is situated on the upper floor, crowned by the irregularly shaped pitched roof, while a smaller ground floor containing modifying rooms, showers and offices is hidden beneath the overhang of the degree above.
From a distance this cement-rendered reduce storey is barely visible, making the upper floor appear unsupported.
“We experimented with to make the ballet school approachable,” stated the architects. “The design and style fits with the surrounding residential location and assures enough height in the studio to be able to practice ballet.”
The school’s entrance and parking spaces are sheltered by both the overhanging upper floor and the eaves of the roof, which are slightly curved to emulate hand-drawn lines.
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Y+M Design Workplace buildings are frequently characterised by their distinctive roofs. Among them is a residence positioned close to the ballet college, which is shielded behind pieces of timber hoarding and a family home hidden below a flight of stairs.
Panels of exposed timber and blocks of white paintwork on the ceiling of the ballet studio are reflected in the mirrored walls, exaggerating the irregularities of the roof form.
Photograph by Y+M Style Office
A extended window in the roof allows heat to escape from the studio, whilst a fan outfitted with a temperature sensor circulates fresh air.
A broad staircase wraps the studio and altering block, allowing students to meander gradually about the developing on their way to dance courses. The shallow steps between the studio and the glazing are also created as a loitering spot for parents to observe classes via picture windows.
“We created the approach from the entrance to the studio to be as long as attainable to create a excellent interface in between ordinary daily life and classic ballet school,” explained the group. “In the course of the strategy, the student can adjust their mind. It can uplift a student’s thoughts.”
A mosaic-like arrangement of glass panels varieties the outer wall of the upper floor, giving views across the neighbourhood to Mount Bizan, a nearby mountain range that is mentioned to seem like a gently arching eyebrow.
“The studio is vivid and ventilated nicely through natural sunshine and wind in every single season,” said the architects. “It truly is a quite opening room that students can see the splendour of Mount Bizan by means of the opening window in the big pointed roof.”
Photography is by Yohei Sasakura unless stated otherwise.
Exploded axonometric diagram 
Floor strategies Dezeen
