The effort: The Cincinnati Ballet is embarking on the design and construction of their New Center for Dance, the first ground-up location in their 57-year history. With the selection of a unique site perched along interstate-71, the design team was able to take advantage of unparalleled downtown views and connections to the arts and cultural institutions located within Eden Park. With their neighbors at the historic Baldwin Building apartments filled with new urban residents and the connections to the soon to be designed Johnston Park, the site design provides for a truly memorable connection to the fabric of the City and the Walnut Hills community.

The concept: As a dancer exhibits Strength and Grace with each seemingly light move that they make, the architecture and site were designed to exhibit these similar characteristics. The strong, but graceful moves of the building sit softly amongst the dramatic grade change across the site. Soft prairie grasses and woodland edges give way to a flexible exterior Performance Plaza with an open lawn space that allows for a visual and pedestrian connection to the adjacent park.

What we did: REALM designed a plaza space to accommodate opportunities for public displays of dance, events, concerts, weddings and a host of other community gatherings. Breaking down the barriers between the walls of the building and the site helps to connect the arts and cultural institutions of the district with the community and its residents. This exterior display of the arts and dance will serve to enhance the public’s awareness of these civic assets.