Winners and honorouable mentions
Conceptual Theoretical Urban Design
Winner
Winner
Sturgess Architexture - Office retrofit
The narrative that surrounds the retrofitting of office towers is one that often focuses on the incompatibility of converting office floor plates to other uses, or on the high costs associated with adding balconies or altering façades. We found that with some creative new approaches not only can these constraints be mitigated, but they can provide feasible opportunities to add much needed diversity to Calgary’s downtown.
Mention
Urban Design Plans
Winner
Winner
Balmoral Circus
The City of Calgary, DIALOG
Balmoral Circus was originally designed in the 1930s, when automobiles dramatically reshaped the urban landscape. The quartered intersection featured lawns and planting beds, a showcase of the formal beauty celebrated during the City Beautiful Movement. The redesign of this space responds to a shift at the city scale. The projected arrival of the Green Line and Rapid Bus Transit down Centre Street will support civic growth and sustainable modes of transportation, but this also means a marked change for the North Hill area.
Urban Architecture
Winner
Winner
The District at Beltline
Spear Street Capital, Kasian Architecture Interior Design & Planning Ltd.
The District at Beltline (The District) is a revitalization of the former IBM Corporate Park. Originally built in the throes of a vibrant Calgary economy courtesy of a booming energy sector, it was sterile, three-building complex that lacked any real engagement with the surroundings and local community. The design at ground-level focuses on a street-to-street, activated extension of the Beltline community. One that incorporates new food experiences, a network of laneways and connected indoor and outdoor gathering places, transforming the buildings’ relationship with the site’s exterior spaces.
Winner
Mention
Civic Design Projects
Winner
Winner
Dale Hodges Park
The City of Calgary, O2 Planning & Design; Sans Facon; Source2Source; AECOM
Dale Hodges Park is a transformative landscape along the Bow River in Calgary. The project was born of the need to restore the environmental health of a former quarry while addressing stormwater treatment opportunities for runoff from over 1,700 hectares of adjacent urban area. Located within an existing 164-hectare river valley park, the site adds 40 hectares of integrated park land, stormwater treatment facilities, and one of the largest public artworks in North America. The park concept highlights the journey of stormwater in the landscape through a series of curated experiences, collaboratively designed with The City’s Parks, Water Resources and Public Art departments.
Urban Fragments
Winner
Winner
Flyover Park
Parks Foundation, Stantec Consulting Ltd.
Flyover Park is an example of how neglected spaces can improve our city, creating park and play equity for traditionally underserved communities. Driven by community, citizens identified a neglected and perceived unsafe space, and inspired the design of a new inclusive community hub centered around play for all ages. Members of the community developed the park’s schematic concepts which allowed our team to finalize the programming, design aesthetics, and proposed materials. After continued collaboration with the community, the park emerged from the depths below the 4th Avenue flyover.
Mention
Mention
Community Initiatives
Winner
Winner
High Park
Beltline Neighbourhoods Association, Public City Architecture
High Park is a new rooftop park and event space in Calgary’s Beltline, and an exciting destination for residents and visitors alike. The park originated as part of a community-led adaptive re-use project that has successfully converted the underutilized top floor of a multi-level parkade into one of Downtown Calgary’s most vibrant new public spaces and a highly valued community asset. The signature park reimagines the 90,000ft2 rooftop of the Centre City Parkade while addressing a deficit of public park space in one of Calgary’s most densely populated communities. Initially designed and implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic in response to a changing urban landscape, the park continues to evolve under new development phases guided by ongoing community engagement and feedback.
Mention
Confluence Award
Winner
Winner
Century Gardens Redevelopment
City of Calgary Parks, Marc Boutin Architectural Collaborative; PFS Studio: CMAL
This project design arises from a commission mandate by the City of Calgary to reinvigorate the park through the provision of a new set of community amenities, thereby making the park well-used and safer, while strategically connecting with the existing cultural landscape and breathing new life into the unique features as an investment into Calgary’s collective memory.
In response, the project manifests four integrated design strategies: (1) establish connective pathways that link critical destinations and suture changes in grade in an accessible manner, (2) layer public programming and amenities to animate the outdoor spaces, (3) weave spaces and access around the retained elements of the cultural landscape to ensure their presence is fully enjoyed in a safe manner, and (4) establish two architectural bookends to the main cultural landscape pools in order to provide necessary public services to the park and create a strong sectional quality around the pools so that the public can fully access this sculptural feature.
Mention
City Edge Development
Mention
Mention
Plaza
Truman Homes, Lola Architecture
The Plaza is envisioned as a central community gathering hub for the West District community, acting as a central node for surrounding retail and live/work units. The bridge above has two elliptical oculi to provide dynamic lighting throughout the day and also visually connect the residents on the bridge level to the activity below. The partially covered plaza also allows for flexibility of use throughout the year, ensuring the public realm remains vibrant as the seasons change. This bridge is an outdoor amenity space that connects the adjacent indoor amenity from each of the towers. Visually, it connects the towers to create a prominent streetscape and also provides a cohesive pedestrian realm along Broadcast Ave.
Mention
Green City
Winner
Winner
Grow
Dr. Andrei Metelitsa, Modern Office of Design & Architecture
By providing a selection of small (450 sf) studios, medium-sized (600 sf) condos, 1.5 storey lofts and large (850-1,000 sf) two-storey townhomes, we catered to a broad cross-section of demographics, allowing an aging-in-place couple the possibility of living next to a young family with children, or a single student living next to young professional. While some might say this approach to accessibility and inclusivity is hardly radical, in our city of Calgary – in which the majority of housing is provided by private/speculative development – we feel this approach is sorely needed. If GROW’s approach to accessibility and inclusivity became more prevalent in our inner-city communities, perhaps this could contribute towards rejuvenating failing urban realms through encouraging reinvestment in inner-city schools, community centers, grocery markets, etc.
Housing Innovation
Winner
Winner
Peaks & Plains
RNDSQR, Vera Architecture: BBLOC Interior Design
The concept was to create social value using architectural design. By use of varying shapes and building materials each multifamily unit feels unique, and a sense of “home” is achieved. Buildings and urban spaces provide the framework for urban life and help makes areas attractive. Buildings and urban spaces help promote a better quality of life for citizens, improve social cohesion and can even have a significant branding effect.
The play between two architectural languages, PEAKS + PLAINS, ended up giving joy to the people living within but also enriched the texture of Altadore itself. Stop by for a Monogram coffee!
Mention
Mention
Student Projects
Winner
Winner
Urban Acupuncture
Alima Pal, Deepali Dang, Garima Chaudhary, Madiha Mehdi, Mona Meschi, Pranshul Dangwal & Shabnam Seifhamedan
The area around Max Bell/ Barlow LRT station is characteristic by high intensity traffic, fragmentation due to auto mobile oriented infrastructure, and remnants of urban sprawl. The Urban Acupuncture project redefines a traditionally car centric area in Calgary into a high dense, unique, pedestrian focused area that connect Calgarians to the past, celebrates the present, and builds the foundations for a socially, ecologically, and economically flourishing future.