Music centre's final design revealed

The final design for a new national music centre slated for Calgary's East Village neighbourhood was revealed on Wednesday.

Oregon-based Allied Works Architecture collaborated with Calgary firm GEC Architecture on the plan for the National Music Centre, which will incorporate and expand on the historic King Edward Hotel on Ninth Avenue and Fourth Street S.E.

"With respect to music we think it will have a long term effect in making Calgary a centre for artists, for new music and for all things related to music," said National Music Centre CEO Andrew Mosker.

The facility will also serve as a catalyst for spurring development of the new East Village neighbourhood, Mosker added.

The $94-million building is slated to open in 2014, with groundbreaking expected this fall.

So far $75 million in funding has been pledged from three levels of government. Last January the city agreed to ante up $25 million for the 80,000-square-foot facility.

The centre's website calls it an "extraordinary design that will give Canadians a place that amplifies the love, the sharing and the understanding of music through programs, collections and collaborations across the country."

It will be a multi-purpose venue, housing the Cantos Music Collection, a music centre with performance space, recording studios, classrooms, radio broadcasting facilities, artists' programs and a collection of artifacts and memorabilia from the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.