In April, the Houston Ballet company opened the Ballet Center for Dance in downtown Houston. Billed as the largest dance facility of its kind in the U.S., the 115,000-square-foot facility features nine dance studios and a theater that seats up to 200 guests.
Houston’s donor community helped raise assets for the project, which cost around $46.6 million. The globally-recognized architecture firm, Gensler, designed and built the structure. The building features a sustainable design and a gallery-like interior.
“I’m delighted that Gensler and Houston Ballet were able to bring this vision to life,” said James E. Furr, FAIA, regional managing principal of Gensler’s South Central region. “The opportunity to advance the arts, strengthen Houston’s reputation and bolster the city’s economy by creating a significant work of civic architecture during a recession has been tremendous.”
Houston Ballet is America’s fourth-largest ballet company and consists of an ensemble of 54 dancers with an annual budget of $18 million and an endowment of more than $55 million. Hailed by “The New York Times” as “one of the nation’s best ballet companies,” Houston Ballet has toured New York, London, Montreal, Hong Kong and Spain.
The Details
Houston Balletwww.houstonballet.org
