Award

august 2015 | 55 Lamborghini Calgary photography by angus mackenzie/courtesy marshall tittemore architects Lamborghini Calgary by natalie bruckner-menchelli S tanding proudly on top of the bluff at Meadows Mile in Calgary and mim- icking a bull surveying its vista is the home of the brand new Lamborghini Calgary store. "We recognized the views from the area and the importance of building somewhere that responded to the set- ting and were able to take a command- ing opportunity of the location where it is set," explains Bill Marshall at Marshall Tittemore Architects (MTA). However, being built on the bluff meant the site was a particular challenge and the building had to be "shoehorned in," adds Oliver Dees, project manager at Chandos. The two-storey black and white struc- ture has been architecturally designed using aggressive angles, subtle patterns and texture to evoke a sense of excite- ment. The building, which is considered extremely progressive in its design, sets a new standard for Lamborghini across the world. However, the building today differs from its original concept. "It started with the simple idea of a black box. If you go to a car show, Lamborghini will create a sense of desire around the car, they will lift a corner and show a headlight – you see the geometry and get a hint of something spe- cial. This big theatrical performance was incorporated into the design. The glazing on a dealership is usually taken all the way up, but here there is a top header as if to unveil the car," says Marshall. Trying to fit the 20,000-square-foot building onto the site with ramping, a vehicle lift and a service bay was quite a challenge, but the architects believe this attributed to the building form. "It allowed us to justify our moves, whereas typically you would just be designing a box, it afforded some nice design oppor- tunities," adds Bryan Gartner, project designer at MTA. To create the esthetic of a black box, the building is clad in three differ- ent profiles of metal panels and white stucco. Its structure is structural steel with cast-in-place concrete stair and elevator cores supported on spread and strip cast-in-place concrete foundations. "While the building is a conventional construction in many ways the pri- mary design challenge was to provide a structure that suited the elegant archi- tectural design," says Nick Berci, senior engineer at Entuitive. "The strong diag- onal and horizontal geometric window lines are achieved through secondary structure floating away from the face of the building, creating views which focus the attention on the vehicles on display." Special Starphire glass was used to ensure the utmost clarity and provide maximum views to the inside of the store. The sharp angles of the windows also posed a challenge. "In order to meet the schedule, we created our shop drawings for a lot of the designed items and ordered everything off of paper. The walls were then built onsite to fit the pre-order win- dow wall sections for example," says Dees. On the lower ground level are the vehicle maintenance facilities that fea- ture four service bays. "The shop facility has been lowered relative to the main showroom floor to provide enough clear height for the vehicle lifts within the shop area. The two parts of the building are divided by a structural concrete fire wall," adds Berci. The first f loor is home to seven Lamborghini's and the second level is dedicated to 20 preowned super sports cars including Porsche, Ferrari, Maserati and Rolls-Royce. The materials chosen give the inte- rior an industrial look combined with a refined Italian-style elegance. "It was an interesting meshing of finishes from high-end to raw, heavier steel elements," says Dees. "We have exposed concrete walls, polished concrete f loors and some gypsum elements that are com- plemented by beautiful Italian granite. Where usually everything would be hidden in gypsum and trim, here every- thing is exposed. The amount of natural light streaming into the building from different angles at different times of the day made it a challenge as to how those finishes looked throughout the day." The second f loor, which has 180- degree view across Deerfoot Meadows, Location 787 Heritage Drive SE, Meadows Mile, Calgary, Alberta owner Lamborghini Calgary Project Manager Platinum Projects architect Marshall Tittemore Architects generaL contractor Chandos Construction StructuraL conSuLtant Entuitive MechanicaL conSuLtant Mirkwood Engineering eLectricaL conSuLtant SMP Engineering LandScaPe conSuLtant IBI Group Inc. totaL Size 20,000 square feet totaL coSt Undisclosed

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