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februa ry 2016 | 79 13th avenue photography by horizon photoworks/courtesy bentall kennedy (canada) lp 13th Avenue by natalie bruckner-Menchelli T he 25-storey residential tower on 13th Ave. SW in Calgary is a dynamic addition to the Beltline community and a testament to the areas growing arts scene. Developed by Bentall Kennedy (Canada) LP, the building has been conceived to reflect the culture of the community. The building utilizes a mosaic of composite metal panels and features a distinctive white "picture frame" on the top half of the building, which is echoed at numerous locations on the facade, the main entrance below and at the city homes on the main level. "When we first started on the project we did a walk-through of the neighbourhood. This site is close to Hotel Arts and there is a growing appreciation for the arts in this neighbourhood, which was the genesis for the picture frame idea," explains Stephen Mahler from Gibbs Gage Architects. "For the building cladding, the aluminum composite panels are arranged in a random pattern of varying colours and finishes. As light moves across the building it alters the effect of the panels and the building becomes the artwork set within the frames," adds Mahler. Featuring 218 rental residential units complete with two-and-a-half levels of below-grade parking and a landscaped courtyard in the back for residents, the building is contemporary yet timeless. "The composite metal panel building skin takes up the entire facade of the tower with the exception of the penthouse, which is an insulated metal panel product. It's got a really nice clean rich look, which is unique. You don't see a lot of that on residential towers," explains Ian Kerr at EllisDon Construction Services. The mid-block site configuration posed some challenges, given its relationship to lower scaled townhouses to the south. "There is no back lane so being a 'good neighbour' was an important consideration from day one. We were able to turn these constraints into opportunities by creating a south facing sun- filled courtyard that will become an amenity for the residents and an appealing visual backdrop for the neighbours," says Mahler. When it came to the design process, Bentall Kennedy utilized a highly collaborative approach in working with the design team. "Bentall Kennedy put themselves in the shoes of the resident. The design of these smaller suites is leading in class for space efficiency for this relatively new concept in Calgary. We put much consideration into lifestyle and local culture as big influences on the design to ensure livability," explains Mahler. "Bentall Kennedy went to the extent of building physical mock-ups of the suites to test out the arrangements and to assist the investment team in appreciating the design direction. Fundamental to each suite is the open and connected living, kitchen and dining spaces at the heart of each apartment, which create a sense of spaciousness, while bedroom spaces are compact and ultra efficient," adds Mahler. Features such as oversized islands, sliding doors to bedrooms and over-height ceilings all contribute to the feeling of spaciousness. Each floor measures approximately 6,300 square feet, and the units range from 450 square feet to 750 square feet. Most floors of the structure have nine units, but top levels 24 and 25 have larger units. The dimensional tolerances are so fine in the units that particular attention had to be paid to the layout during construction. "Most of the washroom doors have around five-millimetres of space to the toilet when open. This project was extremely well co-ordinated to maximize the space," explains Kerr. Head inside the building and it's evident that the design encourages resident interaction and builds a sense of community. "A lot of attention was paid into making the main floor lobby a social area. It's very open and features a tiled elevator lobby, mailroom and social lounge, a fireplace and large sliding doors that open up onto the courtyard where there is a trellis and a firepit," says Kerr. Mulvey & Banani, the electrical consultant on the project, added some speciality lighting to the courtyard to further encourage use. The two-storey underground parkade features a dog washing station and a place for residents to tune their skis and service their bikes. "These functions are a big part of the Calgary lifestyle and providing for them in ways that people can interact contributes to the sense of community," says Mahler. To assist with the transitioning between the residential tower and the parkade, Mark Ritchie, associate at Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd., says the above-grade residential columns were positioned to minimize the need for column transfers when transitioning into parkade columns. "The typical residential floor made use of long slender columns hidden between suite walls in order to minimize the typical floor concrete slab thickness," says Ritchie. To maximize efficiency and minimize costs, the electrical systems are fed both from the top and the bottom of the building. "The smaller suites increased the electrical loading per square foot of the building. We went through a redesign of the distribution system throughout the building to reduce the overall cost while maintaining the functionality," says Max McLeod from Mulvey & Banani. The smaller suite sizes also meant careful attention was paid to the mechanical systems. Heating is by perimeter radiation and vertical fan coil units provide air conditioning to each suite. "Insulation wise it was very tight. We used a two pipe vertical fan coil unit which meant it took some of the mechanical equipment out of the ceiling space; it also made it manageable from an insulation standpoint," explains Jay Stobbe at Smith + Andersen. "We are direct ducting our ventilation air to each suite. Clean lines are seen throughout the building and the architect was very careful with how the louvres on the exterior interface with the rest of the building." Stobbe adds that good quality force draft boilers were used to maximize the return temperature on systems. Each suite features a furnace that provides cooling and every suite has baseboard radiant heating. In addition there is a variable frequency drive on all of the systems to reduce energy consumption. In fact, when it comes to efficiency, this building promotes far more than efficiency of space. "On the facade, as part of the integrated process, we wanted to do an optimized ratio of glazing so we have just under 40 per cent glazing on the building," says Mahler. "This is an acknowledgment to the building code in Alberta which is changing this year, and also the owner's focus on energy efficiency." Perhaps what stands out most about this project, however, is the close collaboration and passion expressed by all those involved. "The teamwork was a strong point in how things progressed and the architect did an excellent job in handling how things were run," says Stobbe. A Location 121 13th Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta owner/DeveLoper Bentall Kennedy (Canada) LP architect/ interior Design consuLtant Gibbs Gage Architects generaL contractor EllisDon Construction Services structuraL consuLtant Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. MechanicaL consuLtant Smith + Andersen eLectricaL consuLtant Mulvey & Banani International (Alberta) Inc. totaL size 157,500 square feet totaL cost $60.7 million 8:36 AM 7:51 AM

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