| Worst CITY council moment
Despite the fact that as of the last homeless count close to 3,500 people are homeless in Calgary and legions of renters are terrified of becoming homeless due to skyrocketing rents, almost zero vacancy rates and condo conversions, city council couldn’t bring itself to allow secondary suites to exist throughout the city this year. Aldermen blathered on about parking problems and loud parties caused by people living in secondary suites. However, the subtext seemed to be we don’t want to allow low-income riff-raff into our neighbourhoods because it might impact our property values. Secondary suites provide much needed affordable housing in many other Canadian cities. The concept of mixing socio-economic classes throughout the city appears to be too revolutionary for Calgary city council.
Most half-assed council moment
After many hours of tortured deliberation, city council became the last major city in Canada to create a curbside recycling program. However, it won’t happen until 2009, will only include single residential homes – too bad condo, trailer park and apartment dwellers – and doesn’t include organics and yard waste. In a tie for the most half-assed council moment, there was also the mad scramble to find shelter space for the homeless during the April cold snap. In a brilliant example of city council planning, the temporary shelter at the Brick had to close at the end of March to make way for 16th Avenue widening. Unfortunately, cold weather in Calgary doesn’t necessarily end as of March 31, and people were left outside sleeping in the snow because permanent shelters were completely over capacity. Mayor Dave Bronconnier and some aldermen are emphatic that Calgary doesn’t need more permanent homeless shelters and instead needs to move towards a long-term solution for homelessness. Although the sentiment is admirable, we still can’t leave people to freeze in the interim.
(AS)
Worst Calgary-related political gaffE
One of the first things Premier Stelmach did when he was elected Tory leader was assemble a task force on Affordable Housing. Top-notch idea. He really blew it, however, when he nixed one of the task force’s key recommendations – temporary rent controls. Why establish a task force in the first place if you have no intention of taking it seriously? Why expect people in various parts of the province to troop into task force hearings and make their case if you don’t care what they say? When rents started sky-rocketing in Calgary, Stelmach said it was news to him. He also called gouging landlords "un-Albertan." That will really scare them back into line.
But the top prize for verbal gaffes has to go to finance minister Lyle Oberg. He’s the guy who was talking about skeletons in the Tory closet a while back but then failed to deliver. When renters in Calgary and Edmonton demanded rent control legislation and found lots of support from the opposition parties, this was Oberg’s response: "I’m completely against rent controls… and I've already had phone calls from developers saying, 'What the hell are you doing?’" Yep… that’s the way it works in Alberta. Task Force hearings count for zip. One call from a developer… that’s another story. (GS)
Best new civic architecture
Following the curved roadway of 25th Avenue S.E., itself a mimic of the old CP rail line that forged this route, the City of Calgary’s newest building, the Water Centre, stands along its curb and almost distracts the driver right off the road. A looming curved wall of galvanized aluminum rises on the edge of the city’s Manchester yards evoking a sense of the water that will be the occupants’ primary concern.
The building will house approximately 800 Water Services and Water Resource employees, bringing them together in one building for the first time. Rounding the bend in the road, the first question that comes to mind is: what is that? Quickly followed by a sense of architectural hope, a sense that perhaps Calgary is not doomed to a sort of design purgatory, brutalized on all sides by four walls and a roof.
"I was very interested, and have been for a long time, in the curvilinear nature of 25th Avenue," says lead architect Jeremy Sturgess, whose firm Sturgess Architecture collaborated on the project with Manasc Isaac Architects of Edmonton. He wanted to pay homage to the historical nature of that curve as the former path of the railway, to maintain and reinforce it while also cupping the yards and the green space that will nestle into the building’s south side. "So, not only is the building, by its location, creating a garden that is going to be very useful to the users of the building and also to the public, but it is also defining and establishing 25th Avenue as an important piece of Calgary’s fabric," he says.
While motorists will be confronted with a sloping quarter-circle roof slashed with long banks of tempered windows, the south side will be a massive wall of glass with alternating blue and green hues – another water-inspired design feature – facing a landscaped area. Resting comfortably within its protective embrace, the green space will feature meandering stone walkways with simulated creek beds rushing water run-off from the roof to ponds and cisterns in the yard. The collected water will be used for irrigation.
The centre was inspired by American architect Stephen Holl’s Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, and mimics both its curved design as well as its ready supply of natural light. "One of our features that we want to provide people, is access to a window and access to daylight while they’re at work," says Russ Golightly, project manager of the water centre for the City of Calgary corporate properties and buildings.
This, along with the landscape design is part of meeting the city’s new sustainable building policy, approved in 2003, which calls for all new city projects to be certified LEED (Leadeship in Energy and Environmental Design) silver or above.
LEED is the industry standard certification system that monitors and certifies buildings based on 70 established points including access to public transportation, energy efficiency, water use and innovative design. Levels of certification are: certified, silver, gold and platinum. A building that achieves 33 to 38 points will be certified silver.
The impressive exterior of the building is a fitting shell for the environmental innovation contained within. According to the City of Calgary website, the building will be day lit, recycle 95 per cent of excess construction material, reduce water use by 59 per cent, waste water by 72 per cent, and save 58 per cent in annual energy consumption.
Over 700,000 kilograms of reinforcing steel used in the construction was recycled product.
Wider on the west end and narrowing as it flows east towards the industrial heart of the city, the building is long and narrow, an intentional design to foster community by encouraging walking and talking all while avoiding elevators. Inside, all four floors are open on the south side, each railed with recycled wheat stock boards, creating an atrium feel to the interior. The design team made the space open, hoping to foster not only communication, but also air-flow and movement. "We were very strong that it should not be a high rise," says Sturgess, "because if we’re going to make a building that is a collaboration we want to make as much public space in the building as we can."
Alderman Bob Hawkesworth, who introduced the motion for the new building policy is thrilled with the centre, in terms of its environmental prowess and its architectural beauty. "I think that’s where we have to go (innovative design). We have to raise the bar. If we’re going to get the private sector to go beyond the mediocre, the city first has to go beyond mediocre and raise the bar for itself," he says. "It’s saying to the rest of Calgary and the private sector, we can do it and we expect you to be able to do it too."
The project, though impressive, is estimated to cost only two per cent more than a conventional building, and will bring significant savings in terms of energy and water use. It is expected to pay for itself in 15 years. (DA)
Best refurbishment of a city recreation facility
The Stanley Park Pool is undergoing a major renovation but is slated to reopen for another season of splashin’ good times later this summer, says Mike Gavan, executive director of the Calgary Outdoor Swimming Pool Association (COSPA), which operates the outdoor pool. COSPA was formed after the City of Calgary had considered closing some outdoor swimming facilities. The pool is undergoing a $600,000 refurbishment, with the majority of the money provided by the City of Calgary. Its much-needed upgrade will improve the equipment that heats the pool’s water in addition to other essential plumbing.
The pool, which has the capacity for 300 swimmers, is popular among all age groups because of its additional wading pool, diving tank, aquacise classes and a large patio area that has become a favourite spot for sun worshippers. "Stanley Park is Calgary’s premier outdoor facility because of its location," says Gavan. "This upgrade should add another 15 years onto the life of the pool."
Other attractions in Stanley Park, which borders the southwest neighbourhood of Elboya, include tennis courts, a rugby field and lawn bowling greens. A watery oasis located near Calgary’s downtown core, the pool is scheduled to open in time for Canada Day celebrations, while Calgary’s other outdoor pools will open on Father’s Day. (WL)
Best renovation of a city landmark
By Wes Lafortune
Officially opened on June 30, 1968 the 191-metre Calgary Tower provides visitors a panoramic view of the city and mountains, but now its best sight may be a vertical one. Calgary Tower’s 360-degree view is no longer the main reason many visitors are taking a trip to this city’s best-known building. The phallic structure at the city’s heart has a new glass floor that’s attracting attention. Take the high-speed elevator to the observation deck in 62 seconds or climb the 762 steps to reach Calgary’s newest views. Located 157.5 metres above street level the six metre-wide see-through deck installed in 2005 allows visitors to the top of the tower to have a "creepy" experience as one 10-year-old tourist exclaimed on a recent visit. "It’s creepy," he said. "It’s so creepy"
Walking on glass – even structural glass designed to hold thousands of kilograms – can be unnerving. Many visitors either refuse to step on to the glass platform or nervously grasp a nearby support beam while gingerly taking a brave step forward.
The Calgary Tower (formerly the Husky Tower) can’t compete as one of the tallest towers in the world. This distinction belongs to Taipei 101, a 101-storey tower in Taiwan. Previous to the glass floor’s installation, the most impressive part of a visit to the tower had been the view of the Rockies to the west. Perhaps sensing "tower fatigue" Aspen Properties – the owner of the structure since 2006 has been promoting the glass floor as an experience. "It adds another dimension," says C. O’Brien, a visitor to the tower from Edmonton. "But the floor takes a while to get used to." |
Copyright ©2007 FFWD. All rights reserved.