Iconic building will inject new life in to heritage spot

Project: IW09

Award: Future – Mixed Use, Gold, 2022

Location: Calgary, Canada

Architect: 5468796 Architecture

Client: RNDSQR 

The iconic, geometric design for this mixed-use project, features a striking prismatic form which has been woven carefully into the existing neighbourhood of Inglewood, Calgary. It features three floors of commercial and retail space. Above this, residential floors will twist upwards to make way for the 100 year-old Canadian Bank of Commerce building, breathing new life in to this importance piece of Inglewood’s history in the process. With a tapering form designed to minimise impact on neighbouring properties, there is a triangular forecourt which will provide access to both the new building and renovated bank. Both buildings feature roof terraces, while a third terrace overlooks a neighbouring lawn bowling green. The building’s lower floors will be constructed from cast-in-place concrete while the residential floors will have a cross-laminated timber façade which brings the outside in. A ground floor arcade through the building allows the public to enter through the diagrid structure’s entry atrium which also houses a bus stop.

Design highlights

The unapologetically contemporary façade is wrapped in a structural wood diagrid which reduces the need for shear walls. The mass timber grid is designed to reduce the building’s carbon footprint, and is partially inspired by the heritage timber buildings that were once typical of this neighbourhood, the oldest in Calgary.