Definitely the type of project that would be very cool to see the behind-the-scenes costs, design choices, processes etc. Could give hope to the countless forgettable buildings out there from this era that there's actually hope to rejuvenate them and we don't have to just wait until we tear it...

Overall my position is it's as exciting as a 2000s-era Cineplex but wanted to give it a little more effort below. For iconic and important public civic buildings, beyond the functional requirements of the space, two of the main architectural goals are: Try to be unique - rarely does this me in...

Annoying as more snow is, this is starting the summer off with some well-timed, significant precipitation. Will help things pop off and get green quite quickly in a few more weeks.

We see this repeatedly in downtown design aesthetics in Calgary, the arena lobby is so painfully corporate and outdated feeling. Perhaps unsurprising in our city, and also arena projects in general in North America that are largely corporate/public projects, maybe it's nearly impossible to...

Nice find - that changes my opinion. When you see drops in volumes at Bow/Sarcee to such an extent, it strikes me as a reason to push this one off by 30 years rather than request it now. Recall the Green Line is pushing out the Stephen Ave Subway 30+ years from the modelling they did on how...

Yeah that's one of the ideas - I assume if you are moving that amount of earth and raising everything up tens of metres, makes sense to put tunnels for pedestrian access in. I don't think I am opposed to the project - lots of benefits for cars, bicycles and pedestrians on a busy intersection -...

Interesting small update for the proposed Bow/Sarcee Interchange - cost estimated at $336M. Appears to be in the mix for possible funding in the next budget. https://www.calgary.ca/planning/projects/sarcee-trail-bow-trail-s-w-interchange-and-improvements.html?redirect=/sarceebowimprovements...

Now that it's getting close to complete, it really is a bizarre little project. Lots has been commented on the vertical part, but the base and ground-orientation is pretty weird and hostile. Something about this area and the Macleod Trail car-sewers dominating the experience around here really...

Intercity rail v. local transit in Alberta is a "both/and" type problem where we so easily fall into the classic "either/or" scarcity trap where before we build anything, arbitrarily reducing ambition and applying resource constraints that are only hypothetical. I've heard this argument many...

I assure you ticket prices will not be lower as a result of a corporate sponsorship :)

I am wondering who's going to use the giant CRU space on 17th Avenue. It's quite a bit larger and taller than I was expecting from the renderings.

Pretty amazing what a consistent street wall can do for you. Ties right into things!

Really don’t see builds like this very often. Forget if this has been asked before, but is the concrete design including the exterior panels a requirement out if this being a specialized care facility? Is it just higher fire rating requirements that drive this?

It's hard to conceptualize projects of this scale for both costs and benefits. Think of the provincial or national highway system - what did that cost to build? Hundreds of billions? Could we even figure out the true cost? Was it "under budget"? These are tough (and close to impossible)...

I find it strange only in that my driving-wired brains think this area of Kensington is a dead-end and no one goes there. But that's just the trappings of a limited mindset engrained by decades of driving nearby on a ugly car sewer that is 14th Street NW. It's 300m from SAIT LRT just up the...

This one strikes me as a pretty good location but also will end up being a pretty weird building to live in. With the way that this style of office building has increasingly become obsolete, it makes me think that in the not too distant future, whole generations may never even connect that this...

So far this one is demonstrating we should use more structural wood elements in pretty much everything we build.

[Long off-topic planning rant incoming alert] On the very on-topic subject of whether Calgarians sit on grass in parks at a level that can be described as "something we do or don't do", I think it's a combo of things, but mostly about density, infrastructure and individual...

Quarterly Population estimates are out, first year in history of Canada that the population declined. Stats Can article and data here - https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/260318/dq260318b-eng.htm?HPA=1&indid=4098-1&indgeo=0 Alberta was the only province to see population growth at...

Cautiously optimistic - I am actually kind of shocked they convinced the Stampede to get rid of so much asphalt. It does seem they really want to catch the Stampede up to other big cities with proper, high quality entertainment and exhibition district rather than a collection of random event...