L’eglise du Cirque

Could there ever be a more fun project than a circus school?! We've had a blast helping Eastern Acrobatics renovate their new home inside a decommissioned church, implementing upgrades like access for all, new training spaces, upgraded services, and rigging for aerial activities. This project presented many unique challenges - how many times do you get to build a structural model analyzing the impacts of aerialists swinging from a 100 year old structure?

We've recently completed the first phase of the project, which was a renovation to get the main space up and running for training and classes. This work included adding an elevator and many other accessibility features, bringing the building up to code in various ways [a new sprinkler and fire alarm system, better egress, etc], extensive landscape work and a new parking lot, as well as ensuring that the building works for its unique new life.

We're currently helping Eastern Acrobatics with the second phase of the project, which will include finishing the basement spaces of the building.

Projects like these look deceptively simple - but they're very tricky! We're constantly balancing how to achieve the desired results while also keeping a sharp eye on the budget, while also navigating a complicated [and often conflicting] set of codes, regulations, and standards.

The key move in this project was the accessible street entry, which allowed us to use a much cheaper elevator [LULA] than a traditional full commercial elevator, which in turn allowed us to reserve more space and resources for students, instructors, and staff. Inserting a piece of equipment like this into a historic building is never easy, but here, we had to work down to the millimeter to make sure everything would fit...and it did!

Finished photos coming soon...