East Village Masterplan : Calgary Architecture

East Village Masterplan, Calgary, Canada 2009- Broadway Malyan BROADWAY MALYAN APPOINTED MASTERPLANNER FOR CANADIAN PROJECT Computer generated images of East Village International planning and design consultancy Broadway Malyan has been appointed masterplanner for the regeneration of East Village in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Masterplan Vision for East Village is Broadway Malyan’s first Canadian project, covering 55 hectares of city centre land in the western province of Alberta. The Vision proposes a sustainable urban living community for up to 12,000 new residents, with a focus on the provision of new arts and cultural facilities. The appointment follows a search for masterplanners by Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC), a company formed in 2007 with a remit to regenerate brownfield land in the City of Calgary. Broadway Malyan was one of four shortlisted practices invited to submit proposals. Alongside two local Calgary practices and Gensler’s San Diego office, the company was chosen to present its designs in early December and was appointed as CMLC’s Masterplanning Advisor on winning the competition. Phil Bonds, director for Masterplanning and Urban Design at Broadway Malyan comments: “This appointment opens up new horizons for us, building on our masterplanning, urban branding and sustainable community work which we have been developing for public and private sector clients in the UK, continental Europe, the Middle East and Asia.” Located in downtown Calgary where East Village Masterplan and Elbow Rivers meet, East Village lies adjacent to historic Fort Calgary at the edge of a thriving central business district. Combining the expertise of Broadway Malyan’s planning, masterplanning and urban design teams, a sensitive strategy was created for East Village incorporating existing buildings including those of historical merit, to create a mixed use contemporary scheme for a sustainable urban community. The scheme enhances the existing city grid, providing high quality public realm by working with CMLC’s innovative streetscape designs and future urban green spaces within a mixed use matrix of built urban form. A diagonal pedestrian walkway is proposed to dissect the street grid to link the city to the river to create a new urban promenade lined with active building frontages, punctuated by attractive spaces accommodating street life, events and activities. The vision will build on current plans for RiverWalk that enhances the banks of East Village Masterplan and Elbow Rivers, proposing a new multi-use park on an island in East Village Masterplan River. This extends the proposed diagonal link via footbridges and tree-lined walks to connect East Village with the transport facilities and a substantial residential development being built on the north side of Bow River. Broadway Malyan’s Vision provides for the needs of a dense urban area which is subject to low winter temperatures, with shared emphasis on the quality of both internal and external public facilities. A cinema, cultural centre and indoor active sports arena are proposed for winter use, complimented by urban beaches, an open events arena and piazza spaces for spring and summer. “We’re very excited to incorporate Broadway Malyan’s global experience with our local knowledge and construction work already underway to assist us in guiding private and public investment to achieve the overall Vision for East Village,” said Chris Ollenberger, President and CEO of CMLC. “Their energy, enthusiasm and collaborative work ethic really resonated with our team, and we are looking forward to working with them on building a great community in Canada.” 2009 will see Broadway Malyan leading the masterplanning process and refining the strategy to prepare guidance to CMLC for the redevelopment of East Village. Canadian Architecture Broadway Malyan is a leading international practice of architects, urbanists and designers, employing over 600 people across fourteen offices throughout the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Established in 1958, the company recently celebrated 50 years in practice and has been ranked as one of the top 25 architecture practices in the world. Broadway Malyan offers clients international standards of skill and experience combined with proven local knowledge across all key sectors, drawing on the expertise of an integrated team of specialists including architects, masterplanners, landscape architects, regeneration and sustainability consultants and interior designers. The practice’s size, knowledge and experience base, global breadth and interdisciplinary culture make us exceptional and allow us to undertake a wide spectrum of projects. Broadway Malyan constantly seeks to deliver buildings and places that meet the needs of clients, enhance the environment and are both sustainable and rooted in their community. Innovation and creativity are central to this approach and the practices projects frequently win major awards. Broadway Malyan believes in the added value of great design and place making and is driven by a genuine commitment to the task of making better cities and creating places which enrich people’s lives.