Swastika Dance School is a dance and music studio with an intimate platform for performing arts and workshops. The challenges of a tight site led to a design where many spaces play more than one role. The dance studio is a half-basement, with a double height volume, allowing for adequate light and ventilation, and proper acoustics. On the first floor, a music studio and platform open up to become a larger performance space. A gallery on the second floor overlooks this performance area and serves as a passage to suites for visiting trainers. A common front court connects all three levels, enabling interaction among students in a stimulating open environment. The school is a zero-waste building – debris generated during construction is used in a two-storeyed box-like wall along the staircase. The sloping roof is of corrugated sheets made from recycled tetra-packs. Utilising the building both as a quarry, and a sink for debris and waste, enables the school to pay back its eco-debt even before occupation.
