Let's talk about...neighbourhoods

Location

The Eric Harvie Theatre is nested within the Glenbow Museum. Founded by Eric Harvie, the Glenbow Foundation was established in 1954, and in 1966 the Harvie family donated their collection of art, artifacts, and historical documents to the people of Alberta. Harvie was an avid collector of material related to the history of Western Canada. His collected artifacts tell the story of Aboriginal peoples, frontier exploration and the development of western life. Harvie established a huge collection, including artifacts from West Africa, Asia, South America and islands in the Pacific. Harvie’s contributions to the cultural landscape of Canada include the Glenbow Museum, the Banff School of Fine Arts, the Luxton Museum, the Calgary Zoo, Heritage Park, and Confederation Square and Arts Complex in Charlottetown, P.E.I. The Devonian Foundation was created to honour his legacy, by his son, Donald Harvie.

Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

Event Description

What does the future of the suburb look like? Often viewed as the antithesis of good urban design, what opportunities and qualities exist in the modern day suburb that can allow us to retrofit communities into places we would all like them to be. How do we enhance the human, social and environmental qualities within these places? D.talks explored the role of transit, infrastructure, densification, repurposed buildings, and shared space in a discussion of a future vision for the suburb.

Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

Installation

In collaboration with the Active Neigbourhoods Canada project d.talks visited a suburban neighbourhood and collected quantitative, qualitative and visual artifacts that were provided to two artists, Keving Jesuino and Irena Konsuwan to use as inspiration for developing an installation in the lobby of the event space.

The resulting installation Y(Our) Suburb was a large format interactive piece where event attendees could contribute their ideas for vibrant communities by drawing directly on the piece. The project highlighted the importance of community engagement in planning and the idea that neighbourhoods should be measured not simply by geography, but by the people and interactions that happened within them.

Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

Panelists

Jyoti Gondek, Westman Centre for Real Estate Studies, University of Calgary

Grace Liu, Brookfield Residential

Jamal Ramjohn, The City of Calgary

Susanne Schinler, Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture, Columbia University

June Williamson, Spitzer School of Architecture, City College of New York (CUNY)

Moderator: Jim Brown, CBC

Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

Event Summary

Panellists offered a holistic view of the ways in which suburban communities could be renewed by considering social, ecological, and economic factors as well as architecture and urban design.

June Williamson, visited from the Spitzer School of Architecture, City College of New York (CUNY). She is the author of Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs.

The challenge in cities for the next 50 years will be tempering sprawl development patterns such as low density, car dependence and use separated communities. Retrofitting existing sprawl into more urban and sustainable places, and designing suburban futures is achievable when alternative models are injected into sprawling communities. Opportunities for retrofitting include; biking infrastructure, public housing, district energy systems, suburban agriculture, cottage industries, intergenerational co-housing, re-using big boxes, restoring wetlands and creeks, improving connectivity, diversifying housing choice and price and sub-hub transit systems.

Susanne Schinler, of the Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture, Columbia University presented two projects on housing policy and design. She is co-editor of The Art of Inequality: Architecture, Housing and Real Estate is a multi-year project that considers the conflict between architecture, real estate and housing and explores what is possible in a profit driven environment. The 36 episodes of this project hosted on-line use various forms of media, collections of ordinary artifacts, advertisements, and images of lived in apartments to present the idea that economic inequality is highly linked to other social disparities, particularly the provision of housing. The project aim is to set the terms for understanding the question“How might anyone with a vested interest in architectural design and a commitment to addressing our time’s most pressing social concerns reconcile the two, if at all?”

Possible alternatives were presented using models of cooperative housing, housing that is managed at cost and is not-for-profit. Projects were introduced that emphasize mixed income, ethnicities, ages and uses.  One example cited was the United Housing Foundation that created 23 cooperative housing projects in New York City, mainly designed by architects Abraham Kazan and Herman Jessor. Dwelling units were complimented by food stores, nursery schools, a credit union and various social and civic organizations.

The Kalkbreite project by Mueller Sigrist is a 40% commercial, 60% residential project that was rebuilt on top of a streetcar depot in Zurich, Switzerland. The city leases land to the cooperative, keeping the parcels free of developers. The cooperative offers unique living arrangements with some communal spaces and as a result energy use is 1/3 of what is typically consumed by the average person in Western Europe. There is a public park on top of the garage, a bed and breakfast, shared studios, a communal kitchen and residents can rent rooms for their guests. This project was developed out of an architectural competition after a housing cooperative articulated their goals.

Jamal Ramjohn is the Manager of Community Planning at the City of Calgary. Jamal contextualized the last 65 years of suburban growth in Calgary, calling these places “a great palette of suburban 1st generation developments, dying for retrofit.” He tracked the evolution of the suburban development since the early 1970s. He noted key differences as suburban housing typologies evolved, the increase in housing sizes, raised basements, curvilinear streets (loops and lollipops), decreasing family sizes with increasing housing sizes, enclave patterns of development with limited permeability from one home to the next, to schools and to amenities. Since 2011, however there is an attempt to remedy some of these issues by re-introducing the grid structure, increasing permeability, creating taller homes with front garages and different rear lanes.

Grace Liu, is head of Strategic Initiatives for Brookfield Residential. She emphasized the builders attempt to incorporate a liveability index into new developments and their consideration of quality of life, safety and design in neighbourhoods. She is looking to harmonize the intersection of the market, policy and design.

Jyoti Gondek is the Director at the Westman Centre for Real Estate Studies at the University of Calgary. An Urban Sociologist, Jyoti looks at demographics, maps and populations to understand the make up and morphology of urban neighbourhoods. She is an expert in contemporary land development and housing issues in North America. As a case study she highlighted the dramatic population growth in the periphery of Calgary. NE Calgary has the greatest population of visible minorities and is the central community for Indo Canadians.  Currently the building industry is booming as multigenerational families are purchasing neighbouring lots as well as purchasing old acreages and farm sites in the district of Rockyview, where multigenerational families live together. Unlike typical urban development patterns in Calgary, in the northeast quadrant of the city the defining characteristic is often the number of people living in a unit, whereas in more other areas development patterns are characterized by the number of units per acre. 

Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

Continuing the Conversation

Visit Shelf Life Books and the d.talks recommends shelf to read up on neighbourhoods and other d.talks themes.

Become an advocate for your neighbourhoods and the neighbourhoods you would like to see improved.

Event Support

This event was made possible with help from the Canada Council for the Arts, The Alberta Real Estate Foundation and to the City of Calgary Ward Community Events Fund.

Thank you to our research partners Active Neighbourhoods Canada and Sustainable Calgary.

Thank you to Brewsters Brewing Company, Rosso Coffee Roasters, Shelf Life Books, Sidewalk Citizen Bakery, Village Ice Cream and Vine Arts, for their generous in-kind support.

Thank you to Platform Design for the beautiful design of our invitation and event poster.

Let's talk about...home

Location
The Stanford Perrott Theatre is located at the Alberta College of Art and Design. A watercolorist, Stanford Perrott taught at ACAD in the late 1960s and had studied with Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann in Massachusetts.

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

What Happened
We held a discussion on affordable housing. Many North American cities find affordability key to retaining economic diversity, and yet, affordable housing can seem in short supply. The conversation began with an exploration into the state of housing in Calgary and moved into queries of housing as public infrastructure and the diversity of housing typologies. The question was, how is affordability defined and where does the onus rest on providing an affordable roof over one’s head?

Panel Discussion
Bill Ptacek / CEO, Calgary Public Library
Sarah Arthurs / Member, Prairie Sky Co-Housing
Joe Starkman / President and CEO, Knightsbridge Homes
André Chabot / Councillor, Ward 10
Kim O’Brien / Executive Director, Horizon Housing Society (moderator)

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

Event Summary:
Bill Ptacek set the stage by identifying an affordability challenge in Calgary. Daytime use of the library, it turns out, is frequented by some who have housing as a primary need. There are an estimated 3500 waitlisted for housing in the city.

Moderator Kim O’Brien laid a foundation for the work of organizations such as Horizon Housing Society that provides affordable, integrated and supported homes to over 700 Calgarians. Demystifying affordable housing requires shedding a stigma associated with affordability. Her call was to bring on more collaborative housing, including collaborative fundraising initiatives.

Sarah Arthurs approached the term “affordable” with what is instead priceless. A resident of Prairie Sky Co-Housing for over 12 years, she revealed the social and design aspects of a more participatory experience. Sharing reduces the need to own as many tools and yet sharing is not only more affordable, but the community is priceless.

Councillor Chabot chairs both the Standing Policy Committee on Planning & Urban Development and the Gas, Power and Telecommunications Committee. While admitting that affordable housing is not a core municipal mandate, he noted that inclusionary zoning might offer an opportunity.

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

Joe Starkman’s latest development in the East Village is called N3 and known as a “zero-parking” project. Sometimes housing is unintentionally affordable. Assumptions that the building would be for a young demographic were met with seniors desiring smaller units. They weren’t worried about parking or the noise…they don’t drive and self-proclaimed that their hearing isn’t too well anyhow.

There were questions about a perceived stigma around rental housing, about contentious policy issues, and a bit about secondary suites. But one of the most interesting connections to housing that a member in the audience brought forward is the issue of loneliness.

 

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

Further Exploration:
How we address the challenge of affordability requires design thinking and the use of a number of tools. Follow-up with a panelist or reach out to your representative or your community association if you’re interested in the topic.  Find a way to volunteer if you’re so-inclined. Send us your great ideas on housing options, on cooperative models, micro units, hybrid models and multi-generational living. Visit Shelf Life to find reading material, including our “d.talks recommends…” shelf.

Event Supporters and Friends:
Thanks to the kind support of DIRTT and the Victoria Park BRZ. ACAD, Village Ice Cream, Sidewalk Citizen, Rosso Coffe Roasters, and Shamm’s Kitchen helped us with food. And to our amazing volunteers, a large thank you to each of you.

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

Let's talk about...Home Event took place on October 8, 2015 Video produced by: Long Story Films More information: dtalks.org

Let's talk about...community

DATE: Tuesday, June 4th, 2015

LOCATION

The Royal Canadian Legion Alberta No. 1 branch, was founded by World War I soldiers returning to Calgary who formed a mutual aid society. Branch No. 1 opened in 1922, as a memorial hall honoring the heroic contributions of Canada’s servicemen and women and providing ongoing support for returning members of the Canadian military. The Legion offers club rooms for veterans gatherings and spaces for community events.

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

WHAT HAPPENED

Design Talks Institute invited artists and designers who have worked directly with communities on regionally specific projects. A community supper followed which was catered by some of Calgary’s most outstanding restaurants. The evening culminated with a screening of “Strange and Familiar: Architecture of Fogo Island” with the architect Todd Saunders in attendance.

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

PANEL DISCUSSION

Richard Kroeker, Richard Kroeker Design

Yvonne Mullock, Artist (Lead Artist community quilt project Fogo Island Arts)

Peter von Tiesenhausen, Artist

Kate Thompson, Director of Development Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (moderator)

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

COMMUNITY SUPPER MENU

Foccaccia by Sidewalk Citizen Bakery

Cobb Salad & Roast Chicken by NOtaBLE

Avonlea cloth-bound cheddar (Cow’s creamery PEI) and Five Brothers gouda from Gunn’s Hill (Woodstock, Ontario by Janice Beaton Fine Cheese

Red lentil hummus by Boxwood

Chickpea chat by EthniCity Catering

Barbecue pork loin and seven grain salad by Sunterra foods

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

FILM SCREENING

Strange and Familiar: Architecture on Fogo Island

Q & A with Todd Saunders of Saunders Architecture

image: DesignCause / d.talks

image: DesignCause / d.talks

EVENT SUMMARY

These artists and designers introduced us to the collaborative aspects and outcomes of community enriched projects using local materials, craftspeople and knowledge.

Richard Kroecker is an architect who incorporates usability and ecological sustainability in his works. Buildings are designed to retain the natural beauty of their surroundings and are often inspired by early Native American designs and materials. His design of a children’s theatre for the Acadian fishing village of Cheticamp on Cape Breton was awarded a 2006 Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia award with the jury remarking on the sense of community the structure inspires.  Richard shared the design of a theatre for dance and music in rural Botswana and how improv was woven into the building of the structure.

Yvonne Mullock is an independent artist who works in drawing, sculpture, ceramics, textile and craft on projects that consider the nuances of people, their surroundings, context and place. Yvonne was the lead artist on a community quilt project in partnership with Fogo Island Arts and the Shorefast Foundation. Yvonne immersed herself with the island quilt makers, photographed and cataloged the items and learned the traditions of style and craft that were passed down from generations of families. The Fogo Island Arts project used expertise of local craftspeople to furnish the Fogo Island Inn. Everything from the furniture, light fixtures, doorknobs and quilts were made by residents of the island.

Peter von Tiesenhausen is an artist whose projects are closely tied to the place where he grew up (Demmitt Alberta). In 1997 he copyrighted his property as an artistic project to protect it from pipeline development. He is currently building a white picket fence on his property eight feet per year, never to be maintained so that the passing imprint of time may be revealed. In a recent project he and his wife built a straw bale and timbre framed community hall for their town in collaboration with craftspeople and artists from across Canada. All of his projects use found materials and often take on life outside of a gallery. They are developed with the ongoing effect of natural processes and impressions in mind.

Kate Thomson, Director of Development for the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, moderated the panel discussion.

Todd Saunders is the principle architect of Saunders Architecture and lead architect for the Fogo Islands Arts project in partnership with the Shorefast Foundation and founder Zita Cobb. The two developed an inn, a gallery, a restaurant and artists studios. The Fogo Island Arts Centre offers an international residency program. Using architecture as a tool, the project aspires to add another facet to the economy of Fogo Island which had relied heavily on cod fishing. All profits from the project are for the community and a cottage industry is gaining momentum as skilled craftspeople form the project are selling their furniture and items from the inn to people around the world. 150 craftspeople from boat builders to quilt makers as well as artists and designers from around the world collaborated on the project.

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION

The Lost Spaces Found Exhibition continues:

Centre Street LRT Platform

May 25 - July 31 2015

Free and open to the public, all hours

Continue to send us photos of your lost spaces via twitter and instagram tagged #dtalkslostspaces or email them to hello@dtalks.org.

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

image: Jesus Martin Ruiz / d.talks

EVENT SUPPORTERS & FRIENDS

Thank you to our incredible supporters and friends: DIRTT Environmental Solutions, The Victoria Park BRZ, The Ward Community Events Fund, The Jonathan Hart Memorial Fund.

Our amazing community supper was possible because of support from: NOtaBLE, Janice Beaton Fine Cheese, Boxwood, EthniCity Catering, Sidewalk Citizen Bakery, Beer Revolution, The Green Hare Vegetarian Catering, Sunterra Market.

Thank you to our logistics and media sponsors; UPS (52nd street location), The Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers, Design Cause & Western Living Magazine.

Special thanks to Larry, at the Royal Canadian Legion No. 1 for the amazing venue and assistance.

Design talks is 100% volunteer run and community supported.

Let's talk about...lost spaces found

DATE: April 29th, 2015

LOCATION                            

The Globe Cinema  is one of two remaining art house cinemas in the city of Calgary. The Globe Cinema (originally known as Towne Cinema) has been bringing independent, art house and international film to Calgary since 1995. The Globe is at the heart of Calgary’s thriving film festival scene, supporting events such as the $100 film festival, the Calgary International Film Festival, the Calgary Underground Film Festival, and GIRAF Animation festival.

image courtesy of: Lauda Images

image courtesy of: Lauda Images

WHAT HAPPENED

Design Talks Institute, in partnership with WATERSHED+ and the City of Calgary, hosted an awards night showcasing the winning submissions of the inaugural Lost Spaces Ideas Competition.


COMPETITION JURORS

Susan Szenasy, METROPOLIS Magazine
Pierre Thibault, Atelier Pierre Thibault
Shane Coen, Coen + Partners
Shawna Thompson, The Esker Foundation
Diana Sherlock, Independent Curator

image courtesy of Lauda Images

image courtesy of Lauda Images

COMPETITION WINNERS

First Prize
Lost Railways
Laboratoria de arquitectura y paisaje: Edgar Mazo, Sebstian Mejia, Iojann Restrepo, Glenn Pouliquen

Transportation Field Prize
Occult Prairie
Judit Urgelles, Casey Collins

Water Services Field Prize
Calgary Dehydrants
The Municipal Interface: Kyle O’Connor

Parks Field Prize
Pollen-nation
Jamal Nureddin, Nadja Pausch

Public Art Field Prize
UnderSky
Jorge Sanfulgencio, Julio Romero

Planning Field Prize
Clover Leaf
David Whittman, Mike Murray, Hannah Perry, Jonathan Sagi, Katelyn Junkin, Dave Robertson

Honorable Mentions

Get Lost in the Street
Felicia Sartika, Juanita Christine, Shirleen Alvita

Outplay
Mihail Dimitrov, Ana Dyadkova, Stamena Slavova, Stoyko Enchev, Simona Kabadova          

Seepers
Jitka Svensson, Christel Lindgren, Mike Friesen

Greeting Cards
Federico Perugini, Thais de Roquemaurel, Alessandra Vizzini, Paolo Pirasso

Lineside Park
Yves Poitras, Trevor Steckley

Playful City
Emily Cheng, Jennifer Davis

image courtesy of: Lauda Images

image courtesy of: Lauda Images

EVENT SUMMARY


The inaugural Lost Spaces Ideas Competition saw 290 submissions from 40 countries imagine the potential for Calgary’s lost spaces. Creating an inspiring, healthy and green city is often grown out of small actions and a multidisciplinary collaborative approach. Ideas were evaluated on their ability to address complex issues such as storm water management, food production, undesirable or “dangerous” areas, creation of greater links to wildlife and increased accessibility in urban areas. The most celebrated entries offered a clarity of ideas, quality design and an ability to advance thought in the fields of transportation, planning, parks, water services and public art. Highlighted entries addressed social, economic and environmental implications with leadership and vision.

Our jurors had unique insights in defining lost spaces and introduced the competition with their imaginative work and ideas.

Diana Sherlock, an independent curator and visual arts writer, offered that lost spaces allow us to think of possibilities in our city. She considers the relationship between site, context and objects in space and how they change the way we live our lives in the everyday. Sherlock views lost spaces as a bi-product of modernity, the legacy of over-production and consumption. Rich in histories that are colonial, gendered, and raced lost spaces are productive points of interrogation. Considering these in-between places allows opportunity to live more sustainable lives, opens up a space for quieter aspects of our society to speak more loudly, and might allow us to address topics of social isolation, poverty, consumption, economic inequality, social homogenization and the ugliness of the urban environment. These challenges can be engaged with a sense of humor in elegant and creative ways, generating agnostic debate and productive dialogue, encouraging a vibrant democracy that is essential to lively and vibrant cities.

Shawna Thompson is a curator at the Esker Foundation committed to artistic collaboration, co-conspiring, and advocacy. She considered the dialogue between the institution and the greater city or place and what it means to work outside the walls of a gallery. During her time at the Banff Centre, she saw the transformative effect of clandestine interventions in quiet, hidden and marginalized spaces on campus that spoke to the implicit narratives of a place. Janet Cardiff’s piece “Forest Walk”  in 1991, introduced visitors to a isolated parcel of land on campus. Mike Macdonald created a butterfly garden with native plants in a hidden area at the Banff Centre. Artist Mark Clintberg “borrowed” wayfinding signs on campus and left notes for meeting places in a piece called “Meet me in the Woods”.

The Esker Foundation has recently purchased the Farmer Jones' used car lot in Inglewood and the site has escaped its fate as a development. It will now be turned into a public green space and sculpture garden.

Shane Coen, a landscape architect with Coen + Partners. He views landscapes as influenced by people, place, innovation and beauty. Spaces are lost between engineering and infrastructural feats, or simply between basic infrastructure like parking lots or roadways. Coen + Partners has undertaken urban and rural landscape projects with a sensitivity to the landscape and the people who live there.

A public housing project in Syracuse, New York was challenged by high crime and high drop-out rates. The project ethos was to encourage wellness, meditation, movement and community collaboration. A parking lot underutilized after 4pm was programmed on the hour with basketball, soccer, and open gym programming. A vacant landscape was enriched by an urban forest and patches of open prairie dotted with resting places. A dark sidewalk was made convivial by the installation of street lights that projected optimistic words on the sidewalk. The Jackson Meadow project revived beautiful farmland and restored the land to virgin prairie, as well as fostered a sensitive development pattern consistent with the tradition of Finnish architecture in the old town.

Pierre Thibault is a Montreal-based landscape architect and artist. His projects are both ephemeral and experimental and offer a unique attention to detail and a sensitivity to the natural world. The Peel Basin in Montreal, which was Montreal’s most industrial area in the 19th Century was modified by the reintroduction of native plants and landscape, and is now one of the more natural and green areas in the city. Thibault and his atelier modify areas in the city with small interventions and pay attention to details as small as cracks in the asphalt that create miniature gardens (jardins des fissures).

The campus of the University Hospital in Sherbrooke Quebec was as warm and charming as a suburban mall. Thibault and his team modified this hospital nested within a large parking lot by creating a green belt and a rooftop garden that offered sick patients a sanctuary of green space.


Susan Szenasy is editor in chief of Metropolis Magazine. She is also a writer, filmmaker, lecturer and teacher and advocate for sustainable, ethical and human-centered design. She articulated lost spaces as being the mistakes of 20th century planning and a top down approach to the design of the built environment. She advocates for co-creation in design, where the needs of communities are reported and understood. Italian hill towns are an example of a visionary approach where everything fits and everything is worked out. If we were able to fill in the lost spaces in our midst’s currently, perhaps our urban North American plans would reflect this reality.

Szenasy’s profession enables her to watch what happens day to day in the designed environment. She highlighted that hospitals, for example, are really sick buildings where the patient’s welfare is secondary. She questioned the connection between buildings and nature; how to get fresh air into buildings, how to free earth from the concrete so water can seep into aquifers so that we don’t lose water from rainfall, how to design buildings so that we can look at beautiful things? Lost spaces are really about a thoughtful consideration of the future; “your welfare, your health and your children’s health, you are developing a new world.”

CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION

The Lost Spaces Found Exhibition is up for viewing, showcasing the winning entries from the Lost Spaces 2015 Ideas Competition.

Exhibition of shortlisted entries: Contemporary Calgary / C2 May 7-23, 2015 suite 104, 800 Macleod Trail SE, Calgary Free and open to the public, Th-Sun 12 - 6pm

A following exhibition at:
Centre Street LRT Platform May 25 - June 28, 2015 Free and open to the public, all hours

Continue to send us photos of your lost spaces via twitter and instagram tagged #dtalkslostspaces or email them to hello [at] dtalks.org.

EVENT SUPPORTERS & FRIENDS

This event was possible thanks to our partnership with the City of Calgary, in particular; The City of Calgary's Utilities & Environmental Protection department and Public Art Program and WATERSHED+, in addition to a number of other City departments including Water Services, Parks, Transportation, Planning and Public Art.

Thank you to all of our independently minded supporters and friends: WATERSHED+, The Globe Cinema, Contemporary Calgary, New West Video, Sidewalk Citizen Bakery, DIRTT Environmental Solutions, Rosso Coffee Roasters, Beer Revolution, Brewsters, Vine Arts, UPS and Western Living.

 

Let's talk about…the remix

WHAT HAPPENED

This discussion considered the value of maintaining and reinventing heritage buildings in light of their economic, aesthetic, historical and sustainable qualities.

LOCATION

The d.talks Remix took place in The National Music Centre  located in the historic Customs House Building. The Customs House building was completed in 1916 by architect Leo Dowler and the Department of Public Works. Adjacent to the Canadian Pacific Railways mainline, the Customs House is an example of an early railroad building. It was constructed in a Chicago Commercial-style.

The Customs House, image: Noel Begin

The Customs House, image: Noel Begin

From 1916 to 1979, the Customs House contained the administrative offices and examining quarters for the Port of Calgary. It received merchandise delivered by rail to be inspected upon arrival in the city. Since being designated as a Provincial Historical Resource in 1979, it has operated as a federal government building, headquarters for the police department, home to the Cantos Music Museum and briefly housed the University of Calgary Urban Design Lab. The building is currently shared by an architecture firm and the National Music Centre.

The National Music Centre is in its last month of operation and programming as a resident of the Customs House, anticipating its 2016 expansion to a new 160 000 square foot architecturally renowned facility designed by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture. The NMC is home to 2000+ rare artifacts and instruments such as TONTO (the largest analog synthesizer in the world), and the Robb Wave Organ (the first electronic organ to be manufactured and sold commercially). It will continue to offer interactive tours, music residencies, educational opportunities, music and arts programming. Numerous artists have used the collection as part of residencies in the creation of new works including Timbre Timber, Kid Koala, Money Mark and Shout Out Out Out. The collection has been visited by artists such as Phillip Glass, The Flaming Lips, Arcade Fire, Brian Eno, and Lee Renaldo (Sonic Youth).

PANEL DISCUSSION

Rollin Stanley, GM, Planning, Development & Assessment, The City of Calgary

Mairi + Kevin Nyhoff, Nyhoff Architecture

Reverend Dr. John Pentland, Hillhurst United Church

Cynthia Klaassen, Calgary Heritage Initiative (moderator)

EVENT SUMMARY

Panelists explored ways to “remix” heritage buildings given modern challenges. Rollin Stanley, the General Manager for Planning, Development and Assessment for The City of Calgary advocated for repurposing existing buildings, and suggested that a city can be rebuilt economically and sustainably using heritage preservation and adaptive re-use. He is adept at considering a city’s unique demographic, historical, infrastructural, economic, and sustainability challenges. Working to change policies that hinder a city’s ability to develop responsibly, his talk focused on fostering financial incentives for historic preservation that often initiates a progressive change in dialogue concerning controversial urban issues. He has noted that “the greenest building is one that is already built”, suggesting that conversions of historic areas and historic tax credits as incentives to create more economic activity, employment, an increase in average sale prices, resulting in dramatic social, fiscal and environmental implications. Heritage preservation promotes fiscal sustainability hand in hand with green sustainability, social sustainability and responsible urban growth.

Mairi and Kevin Nyhoff brought an adaptive re-use perspective; the firm is working on the historic St. Louis Hotel and the King Edward Arts Hub and Incubator Project, two of Calgary's vital historic buildings. Mairi and Kevin are partners in Nyhoff Architecture, an award winning design studio. The King Edward school design is LEED Gold certified with modern elements such as solar shading louvres. The former school is being revived with both work and living space, including outdoor spaces that also act as art-making spaces. Ideas for the Hub were developed with numerous community engagement workshops. Though some additions to the building are modern, its original sun filled corridors, intricate tile work, blackboards, water fountains, hardwood floors, terrazzo flooring, brass coat hooks, sandstone work, and attic space are nuances that will all be maintained in the redesign. 

John Pentland joined the Hillhurst United Church as the minister in 2005 and has since partnered with creative individuals and community groups to rekindle the Church as a vibrant and modern space that is malleable to the needs of the community. In the process, he has developed an innovative reimagining of a church in building typology and congregation. In the last ten years, the church has changed dramatically from a building with little programming, few children, no website activity and a congregation of 60-70 seniors, to a staff of 26, a congregation of 350 on Sunday, numerous children (285), a website with 700 plus visits per month, a significantly increased annual budget and a place with strong community ties. The church’s mission rests on Radical Hospitality, Spirituality and Social Justice, liberally reframing its focus on engaging with people in diverse communities.

This focus on inclusivity and social justice led the church to partner with architects Holly Simon and Kevin Lo to hold an International Architectural Ideas Competition. The competition crowd sourced ideas for a space of “social actualization,” reinventing the church as a place for inclusivity, imagination and wonder. Over 80 people with 39 entries from 18 different countries around the world, including Hong Kong, the Philippines, Spain, Croatia, Lebanon, the United States and Canada participated.

Cynthia Klassen moderated the panel discussion for the evening. She is Calgary’s leading lady in Heritage Preservation as President of the Calgary Heritage Initiative Society and a founder of Doors Open Calgary and the award winning Century Homes Project.  

Hillhurst United Design Competition at Remix, image: Noel Begin

Hillhurst United Design Competition at Remix, image: Noel Begin

CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION

Did the latest d.talks event “Remix” spark some new ideas for a project that considers lost spaces in the context of adaptive re-use or heritage preservation? 

In partnership with WATERSHED+ and the City of Calgary, d.talks is excited for our inaugural design competition inspired by lost spaces. Please stay tuned for the exciting competition details on dtalks.org or @dtalks_yyc.


EVENT SUPPORTERS AND FRIENDS

Fine food and drink from our fine friends at Grumans Delicatessen, Sidewalk Citizen Bakery, Preserve Foods, Rosso Coffee Roasters, Brewsters, Vine Arts, and Beer Revolution. Thank you for your incredible support. Special remix music provided by CJSW's Whitney Ota and Sameer Ladha. Thank you to DIRTT Environmental Solutions and First Calgary Financial for your continued and generous support. Find the relevant book Old Buildings, New Forms at  Monacelli Press.

Let's talk about…the remix, image: Noel Begin

Let's talk about…the remix, image: Noel Begin

Let's talk about...lost spaces

LOCATION 

Festival Hall is an adaptable 225 seat performance space on a residential street in Inglewood and is home to the business office of the Calgary Folk Music Festival. Peter Cardew was commissioned to design the building and created the hall to enhance the valued qualities of the community. He was inspired by the “frank, purposeful and architecturally modest” character of Inglewood and brought these honest elements to the construction of the building. The interior, inspired by early Texan dancehalls uses cross-hatched trusses built with century-old reclaimed timber. Local and regional repurposed materials were used throughout the building. 

Lauda Images

Lauda Images

WHAT HAPPENED

A thoughtful evening considered the left-over, in-between, underutilized, overlooked spaces in the city and the potential they hold in terms of biodiversity, public use, commercial venture and beyond. What opportunities lie in using and transforming these spaces and should we change them?

SCREENING

"Second Nature": A Documentary Film About Janne Saario (Landscape Architect and Professional Skateboarder)

Director: Yves Marchon

PANEL DISCUSSION

With Matthew Passmore of Morelab

David Low, Victoria Park BRZ

Chris Manderson, City of Calgary Parks

Gian-Carlo Carra, City of Calgary Councilor Ward 9 (Moderator)

Lauda Images

Lauda Images

EVENT SUMMARY

Panelists considered lost spaces in the city of Calgary and the potential therein, from abandoned construction sites, to urban parcels of land ripe with native plants and species, to privately owned “public spaces”. Within these lost spaces lie the breathing space of city life, offering opportunities for preservation, exploration, discovery, the unexpected, spontaneous and the risky.

Chris Manderson considers lost spaces to be “the ghosts of planning past”. As an ecologist who works with City of Calgary Parks he is concerned with natural area management and habitat restoration. He considers landscapes, animals and ecosystems in the city and highlights the importance of connectivity and flows between natural spaces. Preservation of natural areas in cities means re-introducing the human scale and thinking about the city as a place interwoven with the surrounding landscape, not just as a city with parks in it. Lost spaces are more than the loss of individual places but part of a lost landscape. Urban afflictions like ring roads effectively wring the city, and cut off the connectivity of natural spaces, ecosystems and animals, elements intrinsic to balancing biodiversity in the city. Next time you visit McHugh Bluff and other wild places in Calgary consider them as vital integrated places that benefit urban and regional ecology.

Matthew Passmore founder of MoreLab in Oakland California creates artworks, installations and experiences that examine our understanding of the social, political and ecological dynamics of public space. MoreLab has worked with cultural institutions, government agencies and private entities to enhance the quality, character and understanding of the public realm. Through his Commonspace project Passmore has considered designated “Privately Owned Public Spaces” (POPOS) in San Francisco and developed mischievous and clever ways to test their “public-ness” such as “Nappening” a free public napping event and “wellness seminar”.

Inspired by stalled development in Victoria Park, David Low and the Victoria Park BRZ have been experimenting with pop-ups, markets, and parkettes as place-making initiatives. An abandoned construction site was repurposed with decks, plantings, benches, pathways, and an open platform for pop-up markets and store fronts. While this project brightened up the area and is a welcoming connection between first street SW and Haultain park, the highlight is the unintended and surprise consequences of taking a space and re-finding it. Skateboarders, guerilla gardeners, and residents posting signs of care and consideration for their community were unexpected litmus tests of enthusiasm and engagement.

Photo Courtesy of Jesus Martin Ruiz

Photo Courtesy of Jesus Martin Ruiz

CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION

In partnership with WATERSHED+ and the City of Calgary, d.talks is excited to announce our inaugural design competition inspired by lost spaces. Please stay tuned for the exciting details on dtalks.org or @dtalks_yyc.

Send us photos your lost spaces via twitter and instagram tagged #dtalkslostspaces or email them to hello@dtalks.org.

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Lauda Images

EVENT SUPPORTERS & FRIENDS

Thank you to all of our independently minded supporters and friends: Festival Hall, Sidewalk Citizen Bakery, Bite Groceteria, Caffe Rosso, Beer Revolution and First Calgary Financial.



Let's talk about...seeding change

LETS TALK ABOUT...SEEDING CHANGE
LOCATION: 150-9th Avenue SW Calgary
Seeding change was located in the lobby and front plaza of a 30 story office tower. Sited on the diagonal in order to not obstruct views of the historic Palliser Hotel across the street, the design offers a generous front plaza.

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WHAT HAPPENED
Seeding Change explored informal urbanism and how moves such as urban gardening can foster community and allow for the growing of food. The event included an exhibition, a plaza activation, a discussion, and a family activity. 

The exhibition: Hands on Urbanism: How to Make a Difference was in the lobby. The plaza activation (front plaza) featured hand-made seating, a collection of chairs community project, weaving and a sculpture. The discussion explored the history of the Vacant Lots Garden Club as well as current practices like fruit tree gleaners, SPIN farming, and urban and community gardening. The idea was, what if an empty lot or a rooftop could serve as an opportunity?


Panelists:
Adrian Buckley / Urban Harvest Project
Andrew Hewson / SAIT Polytechnic 
Mike Ricketts / Bridgeland/Riverside Vacant Lots Garden
Dennis Scanland / YYC Growers and Distributors 
Rick Gendron / 818 Studio (moderator) 

The Family Event: Terrarium-building facilitated by: Aron Hill / Workshop: Creative Community Space 

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Edit courtesy of Sergey Abramov

DISCUSSION SUMMARY
The Bridgeland/Riverside Vacant Lots garden is Calgary’s only community garden with heritage status. The garden has a unique history dating back to 1914 as the Vacant Lots Garden Club (1914-1952), which provided growing space for less fortunate residents, and beautification of vacant under-utilized lots. The garden is currently a community garden for Bridgeland/Riverside residents.

The Jackson Henuset Memorial Garden at SAIT Polytechnic is a learning garden entering its fifth growing season. Conceived by Andrew Hewson, the garden encourages students to connect their culinary arts training with agriculture and sustainability issues (Culinary Agro Literacy).

A wealth of unpicked fruit in the city of Calgary led Adrian Buckley to found the Urban Harvest Project, a database of “donated” privately owned fruit trees to be harvested by volunteers when fruit is ripe and redistributed within the city of Calgary.

Underutilized yard space is an opportunity for diversifying urban agriculture in Calgary. YYC Growers and Distributors is an alliance of urban/SPIN (Small Plot Intensive Farming) farmers in Calgary who have joined forces to create a market for their produce.


EXHIBITION SUMMARY (building lobby)
Hands on Urbanism: How to Make a Difference
Hands on Urbanism is an exhibition, curated by Elke Kransy, that explores urban gardening through the lens of informal settlements and the politics of space. The exhibition shared the stories of numerous citizen-led acts that responded to urban pressures and led to a collective community ambition. The exhibition panels were installed in an office lobby with the intent to make the exhibition accessible to street traffic and to reflect informality.


INSTALLATION SUMMARY (front plaza)
A collection of acts that included repurposing pallets, second-hand wood, weaving and white plastic chairs transformed the under-utilized downtown plaza. Numerous community volunteers participated in transforming granite into a green haven and social space.


EVENT SUPPORTERS & FRIENDS
Thank you to our event partner: First Calgary Financial.

Hands-on Production: Tamara Lee (ChairISH), Lane Shordee (Circular Pallet Bench), Jayda Karsten (Woven Tree Screen and Plant Baskets), Steve Reither (Tire and Pallet Bench), Green Gate Garden Centres (Indoor Plant Material and Pallet Gardens), The City of Calgary (Plant Material), We Are the Filters (Sculpture / Sled Island), Julie Wons (Seeding Change sign), Shannon Lanigan (PVC Pipe Planters), Reclaimed Trading Co. (Wood), Armour Equipment (Scaffolding), Hines Canada Management (lobby and plaza). Installation and design support: d.talks board and d.talks team, with particular thanks to Alicia Yip, Ernest Hon, Jesus Martin Ruiz, Lindsay Horan, and Tammy Primeau. 

Event contributors: Caffe Rosso, PLANT, Sidewalk Citizen Bakery, Urban Ag Project.


CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION
Send us questions or your own thoughts on how to keep the conversation
going at hello[at]dtalks[dot]org.


Let's talk about...getting around

LOCATION Arrata Opera Centre

Established in 1911 by the Wesley congregation the building has operated as a house of worship, a Sunday school and is currently home to Calgary Opera, who took over the old Wesley United Church in 2005. The Arrata Opera Centre houses the company’s administrative offices, a rehearsal hall, a wardrobe shop, an education wing and holds recitals and special events.

WHAT HAPPENED Discussion on design challenges to facilitate mobility and opportunities for improving Calgary’s own scale for the human.

SCREENING THE HUMAN SCALE director: Andreas M. Dalsgaard

PANEL DISCUSSION With Don Mulligan/City of Calgary, Ryan Martison/Stantec, Darren Bender/University of Calgary, Councillor Druh Farrel/City of Calgary Ward 7 (Moderator)

Edit courtesy of David Schleindl

design talks Calgary
design talks Calgary

EVENT SUMMARY

Let’s talk about…getting around considered modern city infrastructure and how it can impact human interaction, personal and environmental health, a sense of place and community, and enhance or hinder mobility. The documentary, “The Human Scale” by Andreas M. Dalsgaard, offered insights from Danish Architect Jan Gehl, Rob Adams and Janette Sadik-Kahn, and examples from Copenhagen, Melbourne, Dhaka, Chongquing, Christchurch, and New York to demonstrate what cities could become if we include people (and the human scale) in the equation.

The City of Calgary has placed pedestrians at the top of their transportation considerations, followed by biking, transit and the automobile. This is an exciting and important time for Calgarians to contribute to the shape and the ease of mobility in our city. Let’s keep talking about getting around.

design talks Calgary
event commute map
design talks Calgary

CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION

If you would like to continue the conversation on urban design that is human-scaled, here are a few ways to stay engaged:

- Watch for the City of Calgary transportation planning projects and a new Pedestrian Strategy

- Participate in upcoming discussions on the Inner City Cycle Track Network. Council will make a final decision on April 28th

- Contribute your ideal street to the d.talks street mix, and submit a design to hello@dtalk.org or listen to what we heard at the event here.

- Send us questions unanswered, or your own thoughts on how to keep the conversation going

EVENT SUPPORTERS & FRIENDS Arrata Opera Centre, Sidewalk Citizen Bakery, Caffe Rosso, Janice Beaton Fine Cheese

Let's talk about...shopping

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location: Plus 15 level of Eighth Avenue Place

what happened? A discussion on how, when and where we shop.

Screening of ‘The Gruen Effect’ 

panel discussion Michael Kehoe/Retail Real Estate Broker, Fairfield Commercial Real Estate Inc., Marcel Proskow/Maxam Design International, Reid Pollock and Liam Rodgers/owners of the independent men’s clothing store Understudy

image: JoAnn Collins

image: JoAnn Collins

The Gruen Effect: Victor Gruen and the Shopping Mall
In The Gruen Effect, an architect’s life, work, and critical humour become a means to make sense of the cities we live in today. The Viennese architect Victor Gruen is considered the father of the shopping mall. His ideas about urban planning, both influential and abused, have led to cities that serve the needs of consumption. By tracing Gruen’s path from prewar Vienna to 1950s’ America and back to Europe in 1968, the documentary explores the themes and mistranslations that have come to define urban life.

support_ SQ Commons, MOCA Calgary,Tamara Lee, Vine Arts, ACAD