Masterplan Vision for East Village, Calgary, Canada

Broadway Malyan appointed masterplanner for their first ever Canadian project

International planning and design consultancy Broadway Malyan has been appointed masterplanner for the regeneration of East Village in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, their 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 the Bow and Elbow Rivers meet, East Village lies adjacent to historic Fort Calgary at the edge of a thriving central business district. A sensitive strategy has been 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 and link the city to the river, creating a new urban promenade lined with active building frontages and punctuated by attractive spaces accommodating street life, events and activities.

The vision will build on current plans for RiverWalk that enhances the banks of the Bow and Elbow Rivers, proposing a new multi-use park on an island in the Bow 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.
source: www.worldarchitecturenews.com
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