National School Of Theater
The location of the Drama Center has a unique set of contextual conditions. The site has on its northern and western edges, two perpendicular highways, as well as a metro line, which generate continual, competing movements. A circular off-ramp links these two arteries in front of the site. In contrast to these ever-present conflicting circulations, are recording studios, which form a static backdrop to the lot's front.
Representing an inclusive approach to the discipline of theater, the program called for the accommodation of diverse, yet interdependent needs. The spaces include three performance areas and their support facilities, rehearsal rooms, lecture halls, administration offices, a cafeteria, a gym, scenography studios, costume design labs, and a library. The challenge of situating over 100,000 square feet of programmed space on an awkward, triangular corner site with an approximately 30,000 square footprint informed and enriched the design of the National School of Theater. The compact space and hybrid program also led to the organization of the building as a series of stacked, individually articulated volumes unified by shared circulation and meeting spaces.
Although the building is arranged in terms of its accessibility, the articulated forms represent a model of a controlled disruptive order. This contradiction between random appearances and a calculated order creates a paradoxical dynamism amongst the enclosed forms. Creating a distinct, unified context for these volumes, the metallic cylinder is a datum, registering its interior volumes positions and fragile state of equilibrium.
The shell form is a result of the dialogue established by the project with its natural and urban context, and the shell's dual nature helps blur the distinction between interior and exterior space. The roof, which capitalizes on the Valley of Mexicos privileged weather conditions, creates covered terraces which can be used for the everyday academic and social life of the school, or as performance or event spaces. The shell encloses the theater's varied interior volumes which house the program, while protecting the building from northern winds and creating an acoustic barrier from outside traffic.
