Toriflops Dance Hall
A multiroom dance hall in the city of Trem
Purpose / Function
This large building was built as an entertainment venue that could cater to different levels of society. With a flexible layout and multiple entrances it can host several events at the same time.
The central hall is the largest venue and consists of an octagonal hall along with an attached kitchen, rest rooms, and storage areas. At the east side of the main chamber is an area set aside for musicians to play. The furnishings in the room are adjusted based on what the client wants, from side table laden with food and drink and a clear dance floor, to a room filled with seats. In keeping with Tori's usual approach to design, the collection of furniture may best be described as eclectic.
Four smaller halls are attached to the main one, each with their own unique style. Each hall can be used for separate events, or the entire building can be devoted to a single one.
Architecture
Toriflop had a very clear idea of what he wanted to create when he started. That vision shifted repeatedly over time with changes demanded part way through the build leading to some slightly odd design choices.
The lower levels were built on top of reasonably solid stone foundations left over from the previous age and polished flagstone floors were laid in the main areas. The walls started out being of stone blocks, before shifting to brick on the parts over head height. Then Tori decided it needed to. be stone all the way, then he wanted to revert to brick.
Each of the halls extending off from the central one was made to be built in the same way as the central hall, but with Tori's constantly changing designg, the money started to run out so some ended up being mostly wooden structures.
It would normally be expected that all the windows in a room would be of the same style, but under Tori's ever changing direction completely different types and sizes were used. Several of the windoes were bought in cheaply from those rennovating or demolishing homes and the builders were forced to reshape walls to fit the windows.
History
Toriflops Blipyjoop Garaway (or The Big Gnome as he likes to style himself) had this building constructed to serve as his dream dancehall. A former musician Tori had seen formal dances, country dances, and dancing in the city squares and what he was always most impressed by was those who were making money from the events. Keen to get some of that himself he managed to sell the idea of a dancehall to a group of merchants on the premise that he could provide a sizeable regular income.
Tori's concept was fairly simple. The rich want dances but not all of them have homes large enough to host them. The poor want dances sheltered from the weather. Those in between want dances like the rich but without paying as much. There isn't enough interest or money from any one group to justify a standalone dance hall, but if you can cater for all of them then it might work.
Despite the building running behind time and Tori's ever changing designs making the budget almost impossible to stick to, the dancehall did finally open. Several smaller events were held in the side halls (while work was going on in other places) which didn't break even but at least got the word out about the place. Interest grew from people wanting to see the sheer ridiculousness of some of Tori's design choices, and bookings increased. Despite not being the best at managing a building project, or choosing furniture in the same style, Tori did at least understand music and what people enjoyed from dances. Musicians and what they would play were chosen with care, and food and drink were picked based on the customer's tastes with the prices kept down through deals based on the traders getting use of the hall.
Parent Location
Comments