The National Music Centre encompasses a museum, performance hall, music education center, recording studio and broadcast center. Sited in Calgary’s historic East Village, the new building, along with the restored King Edward Hotel, signals the renaissance of the district and attracts new audiences to the city.

As a major civic institution, the open call for design teams attracted widespread interest, with over 70 submissions from 3 continents. The finalist phase required detailed design concepts, public presentations and videography to share the concepts and vision with a national and international audience.

The building is organized as interlocking towers that hold the diverse programs and collections of the Centre. Wrapped inside and outside in terra cotta that evokes the earth and light of the prairie, the formal and material expression echoes the landscape of southern Alberta and the mechanics of instrument construction.