Thomas McGraw
Corporate Commercial | Market Leader
Principal
If you want to be the best, you have to learn from the best. As a world-renowned ballet company employing some of the most celebrated, most creative minds within their artistic field, the Boston Ballet knows the importance of training dancers at a young age.
When looking to design their new educational center, the Boston Ballet School hired Gensler to design a sleek, modern facility that puts the importance of the student experience in the spotlight. Acentech’s team of acoustics consultants collaborated with designers to ensure this space is acoustically—and structurally—en pointe.
The new Boston Ballet School hosts curricula for virtually every type of student—from children as young as 8, to pre-professional training, to continuing education for adults—so those with interest in this art form can find a way to learn at an institution known for producing world-class experts in dance.
But, creating a facility for dance requires a true understanding of proper floor construction to prevent injury. Acentech’s experts helped to design floors ideal for health and safety of the athletes within this facility—no matter their age or skill level. Sound isolation, mechanical system noise and vibration control were also vital for the success of this school. After all, if it is too difficult to hear direction over deafening fan noise above, or music from the adjacent practice space next door, how can one truly reap the benefits of expert instruction? Where one learns is often just as important as how it is taught. Together with Gensler, Acentech was able to help the lives shaped by the students at the Boston Ballet School learn in a thoughtful environment tailored to the needs of today’s, and tomorrow’s, dancers.
