Public City Architecture

We are happy to share that The Open, East Village's public washroom and pickleball court, has been recognized with a Canadian Architect Award! 🎉 This project showcases how public infrastructure can be both functional and inspiring and was created to enhance community connection and enrich daily life in the East Village. This recognition highlights the power of thoughtful design and collaborative partnerships in shaping spaces that prioritize people. The Open is making a meaningful impact and setting a benchmark for public infrastructure. Thank you to Canadian Architect magazine for this recognition and to everyone who brought this project to life. Learn more about the award here: https://lnkd.in/gFy2fNuA #PublicDesign #ArchitectureAwards #CommunityImpact #CanadianArchitect

We are happy to share that The Open, a project that embodies our vision for Canadian urban wellness is….. well, Open for business. This 3,000-square-foot public facility in Calgary’s East Village combines safe, accessible infrastructure with a new permanent public washroom a d an adjoining pickleball court. The building has a living green roof and tiered spectator seating. The Open highlights the strength of good collaboration between designers and owners. From a visionary approach to supportive social infrastructures, to a supportive owner/project management team, to the dedication of our engineers we’ve come together to create a space that sustains a fundamental urban purpose (safe clean attractive public washrooms) while fostering community connection through recreation and sport. A standout feature of The Open is the pilot washroom attendant program. This is a progressive approach to improving safety and cleanliness. It will be led by RadiCare Ventures who already have a strong reputation in community engagement. This program feature reflects the recommendations of Calgary’s forward leaning “Downtown Safety Leadership Table” and underscores the importance of integrating accessibility, safety, and sustainability into social urban infrastructure projects and design. As a recipient of the 2024 Canadian Architect Award of Merit, The Open inspires us to continue designing spaces that make cities safer, more pleasant, and fun. Public City is committed to the vital role architecture and landscape architecture play in creating (together) infrastructure that builds common ground to support everyday urban experiences. Read more about this milestone and our broader vision for urban wellness on our website at https://lnkd.in/eWUaFu5s Thank you to the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation , Entuitive , Aplin Martin , CGM Engineering , and AME Engineering.

Continuing our creative relationship with Teeple Architects Inc, we are pleased to join this talented team as the project Landscape Architect. Sudbury is embarking on an important adaptive reuse, transforming a redundant municipal asset into a vibrant cultural hub with a new central library and art gallery at Tom Davies Square. There will be plenty here for smaller Canadian cities to learn from in the coming years. Stay tuned.

Perhaps the administocracy in Canada needs to take stock of this article and ask, why is this still happening.

Coming out of winter, some of our new projects are taking shape. One of our latest projects is under construction for the Swan Valley School Division. It is a multipurpose facility added to the Swan Valley Regional Secondary School and when complete, it will house a cultural performing arts and education theatre, audio training facilities, a full performance stage, and a hybrid backstage that doubles as an indigenous educational workshop. Outside, that workshop is connected to a gathering circle surrounded by indigenous planting beds, a place to share the stories of the Valley. The SVRSS Cultural Arts Center is a step forward for the northern rural agricultural community demonstrating how architects can work with public institutions to find ways to expand educational programs into the community, thereby strengthening their value and relevance for generations. The facility will serve the Valley as a shared asset accommodating touring shows, visiting performers, speakers, musicians, or even host political rallies. It promises to become a venue that supports much of middle province’s burgeoning cultural scene outside of Winnipeg. It’s great to see growth in Manitoba’s cultural, educational, and social infrastructure sectors. It is much needed. Kudos to all the visionaries at the Swan Valley School Division, the Board, the community, and the many elders, students, and staff who gave us their insight and stories to bring shape to the project and place to the program for generations. 🛠️- Ladel Construction LTD. 🦺 Lavergne Draward & Associates Inc. 🔌⚙️ SMS Engineering

As steward of the East Village Master Plan, we are thrilled to break ground and unveil the designs for an innovative and inclusive new permanent public washroom and pickleball court in East Village. The innovative design, born from a design competition spearheaded by CMLC in 2022, led to Public City Architecture being awarded to bring the design concept to life. The 3,000-square-foot facility features four universally accessible bathroom stalls—one wheelchair accessible with grab bars, a shared handwashing space, and a hand drying station, plus a fenced-in outdoor pickleball court. The facility also boasts a tiered spectator seating area and a living green roof with natural grasses. Early in the design process, CMLC prioritized safety and inclusivity by engaging Calgary Police Service and social outreach organizations to identify safety considerations, and worked with a local safety consultant to integrate Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles in the washroom’s design. The groundbreaking for the new washrooms comes on the heels of CMLC’s involvement with the Downtown Safety Leadership Table which highlighted the need for improved access to washrooms in downtown Calgary. Follow the link to see more renderings and learn more: https://bit.ly/3TOELDA

What do pickleball and public washrooms have in common? In 2022, the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation launched a design competition for a new public washroom in the East Village. The challenge to designers was to ‘push boundaries on the form and function of a conventional public washroom facility’. Today, we announce that Public City’s design was chosen as the winner of the competition 🎉 We introduce to you, the East Village Washroom and Pickleball Court - a combination of a public washroom by function, and a pickleball court by form. Yes, we said Pickleball! The fastest-growing sport in North America. This winning design concept was unconventional yet playful - a testament to the approach that we take in our work. The goal of our design was to create an open public space that’s active and engaging, rather than just a pit stop. The bright colours were chosen to invite curiosity and create a moment of intrigue for people passing by. We want people to pause and learn more about the space, a space that adds some more flare to the East Village. Peter and Liz are in Calgary today for the groundbreaking of the project. We’ve been eager to share this with you! ‘We saw an opportunity to transform a functional amenity into an active place for people as well as a chance to challenge the narrative, and the general perception of public washrooms. Public washrooms can feel unsafe. We’ve all experienced it - they’re isolated, small, tend to be overlooked and are often avoided. Through the design of the building, we are addressing these concerns by making the washrooms more open and visible from the outside looking in. The addition of a pickleball court creates a more public, active space which encourages an eyes-on-the-street approach to safety. More people using the space for multiple purposes provides a greater sense of safety.’ The crosswalk at 6th St SE and 7th Ave SE in the East Village is where the facility will live - construction is underway and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. Start practicing your pickleball. #newproject #canadianarchitecture #architecture #calgary

This is an excellent public resource and guide for property owners. It removes barriers to knowledge in a simple easy to use interactive graphic interface. It should be adopted by all Canadian cities, tweaked only to their respective by-laws and ordinances. Great work.

Public City is #hiring. Please help us spread the word!

Public City is #hiring. Please help us spread the word!