S2 celebrated a coveted Calgary Mayor’s Urban Design Award (MUDA) for their design of the Gateway in West Calgary. The MUDA’s are held every two years and acknowledge the contributions that designers, architects and artists make in improving the quality of life in Calgary.
This year saw a record number of entries with 68 nominations showcasing some of the most innovative buildings and public spaces in the city.
2015 Mayor’s Urban Design Award Winners
From Calgary developer Truman, the Gateway project is a high-density, mixed-use office, retail and residential development geared towards the pedestrian with well-articulated street-walls built along the sidewalks, providing retail frontage, maximized throughout the site to activate the street. With over 670 residential units spread over six buildings and 50,000 sq ft of at-grade commercial space, the vertically-integrated mixed-use buildings help foster a vibrant and active street level environment that employs appropriate urban design principles encouraging residents to live, work and shop within the community context.
“The Gateway is a case of a forward looking developer actually bringing into a suburban context, an urbane, mixed development with great attention to the life on the street with a variety of housing options” says award winning architect and 2015 MUDA jury member, Ken Greenberg. “Gateway really shows how the world is changing in these outer areas of Calgary.”
“We are very proud of this unique design concept” says Jason Curtis, architect and Associate Principal at S2. “A combination of solid urban design principles, a visionary client, proper public consultation and having latitude to test multiple design ideas with a like-minded creative design team enabled S2 to focus on producing the right solution for our client, for the City and most importantly for the people that will live, work and play in this new vibrant community in West Calgary.”
As a recipient of a Calgary Mayor’s Urban Design Award, the Gateway automatically advances to the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) National Urban Design Awards being held in 2016.
“Increasingly, Calgary is gaining a national and international reputation for iconic and memorable design,” says David Down, Coordinator of Urban Design and Heritage. “Well designed buildings and public spaces have the power to inspire the people who interact with them every day.” For more information on the Calgary Mayor’s Urban Design Awards click here.
About S2
S2 Architecture is an established firm with over 20 years of history of design excellence. We are a full service architectural and interior design firm with studios in Calgary and Edmonton, engaged in inspired and innovative design and planning. Our work spans a broad range of building and project types and the foundation of our success is deeply rooted in the delivery of creative design solutions for our clients, our communities and the environment.
For more information on S2 click here.
