South Asian Dance Studio
Studio Spring 2020 | Ryan Roark

This proposal envisions a dedicated home for teaching and performing South Asian dance forms in downtown Atlanta, near Georgia State University. The program is divided into two interdependent buildings, one public-facing and one more private, separated by a central courtyard organized around an existing live oak. The courtyard becomes the project’s spatial anchor, drawing people inward through varying degrees of openings in the exterior brick walls. Some openings allow only framed views, while others invite physical passage, echoing the layered thresholds found in traditional South Asian architecture.
The upper floors of the buildings are connected with a bridge, reinforcing visual and spatial continuity across the courtyard. The overall form of the building, as well as its detailing, oscillates between a traditional brick building like those neighboring the site and a more fluid form echoing the dancers’ movements and garments. The resulting composition performs a dialogue between rigor and motion, grounding the studio in its urban context while celebrating the cultural practices it is meant to support.