Award

8 | J UNE 2015 W hen Douglas Olson and Bobbie Olson established O2 in 1995 they, like many new business owners, had a vision; and yet, contrary to many start- ups, their vision was so progressive that it has remained steadfast for more than 20 years. The idea was to take an integrated approach to landscape architecture, planning and urban design that blends creativity and systems thinking to create environ- ments that enhance cultural, ecological and economic values. Douglas Olson isn't just forward thinking; he takes a holistic, yet strategic view of marrying design, land, nature and people in order to ensure growth and security in the long term. However, to say his mindset hasn't changed at all would do Olson an injustice. "Take the name of the business for example," says Olson. Indeed, after com- pleting his doctor of design at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, the Olsons returned to Calgary to start Olson + Olson Planning and Design Consultants Inc. "We quickly realized what a mouthful that was," laughs Olson, adding that the name O2 Planning + Design, or O2 as it is known, was quickly born thereafter. The office where O2 began is in fact the same location where you will find the firm today. However, it has expanded to a staff of over 35. O2's professionals are multidisciplinary, consisting of landscape architects, urban designers, urban and regional planners, environmental planners, and geodesign specialists. They rou- tinely lead large, complex projects, co-ordinating the work of other specialists including architects, engineers, and often, government staff. It's evident talking to Olson that the office culture is very much work hard, play hard. While there are dedicated planning and design studios, the company routinely blurs those lines. "We consider ourselves a company with an exceptional corporate culture," says Olson. "It's a high-performance office of outstanding staff who believe in collaboration to achieve results." Today, the senior management team consists of Trevor Davison, managing principal, Andrew Palmiere, principal of urban and regional planning, and Chris Hardwicke, principal of design. O2 works across scales; from land use planning for all of Southern Alberta – which, when you put it into scale, (115,000 square kilometres), is the size of Austria – to communities, urban plazas and streetscapes. It would be fair to say that the O2 stamp can clearly be seen all across its home base of Alberta. One such example is the University of Calgary's Energy Environment and Experiential Learning (EEEL) a LEED Platinum building. O2 was tasked with ensur- ing the project was sustainable environmentally in terms of its approach to storm- water management, native landscaping and long-term maintenance procedures. One goal of the project was to showcase a major entry plaza to a new gateway building to the university, and to safely mitigate the substantial flows of pedestrian traffic across a busy road. "We looked to the broader landscape for inspiration," explains Olson, "and cre- ated a stylized esker, a glacial, elongated landform found in the region, to provide the northern exposure. To the south, we created an entry plaza that took its form from deep subsurface geological features called anticlines [where oil and gas is found]. We took this arched subterranean form and accurately layered the same types of rock found in an anticline, then sliced it before pulling it apart to create the gateway to the building." Olson adds that it is satisfying that EEEL has its roots in the regional landscape. "The design is also highly responsive in an urban sense, creating an entry plaza that spills across the street. It's an integration of many things; environment, artistic expression, and urban design," says Olson. The project won the Mayor's Award for Urban Design as well as a national award from the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA). O2 Planning + Design takes ecological urbanism to the next level by NATALIE BRUCKNER-MENCHELLI Landscape Regionalism

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