Pink terrazzo takes center stage at The Australian Ballet

The white spirally staircase in the centre of the building connects its two levels and has been specially designed to allow two ballerinas to pass without ruffling their costumes. It's spiralling form mimics the ribbon of a dancing shoe twisting at the ankle. Hassell added the staircase to the building located in Melbourne's Arts Precinct, which is home to one of the countries biggest dance companies – The Australian Ballet.  The architecture studio was asked to renovate and extend  the facailites in a project costing $13 million AUS.  The interior design, featuring a palette of bright whites, muted greys and pastel pinks, references the dancers' customary attire.  “The material choices had to be hard wearing, high performing and functional in nature. We used the colour pallet of these materials to soften the space throughout, adopting a minimal frosted white, light grey and salmon hue with the occasional bold accent of deep navy blue,” says senior interior designer Leah Hudson-Smith.

Between a rehearsal room and a cafe are all the areas dedicated to building the complicated stage machine that takes the company on tour around the world. In this new building, the production staff is clearly visible to the public.

Pink ballet shoes are displayed in glass cabinets and rooms where the dancers rehearse are sectioned off in frosted glass, leaving only glimpses of the moving silhouettes before the final show. It is a building capable of accommodating different spaces for 110 employees and 79 dancers.