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J UNE 2017 | 57 VERSUS PHOTOGRAPHY BY LEMERMEYER PHOTOGRAPHY INC./COURTESY KIRKOR ARCHITECTS + PLANNERS L ocated on the west Beltline neighbourhood of downtown Calgary, the rectangular podium and two high-rise towers comprising VERSUS by ONE Properties is not merely a visual attraction with its clean, modernistic lines. It also fulfills an urgent market need by providing quality rental homes for young professionals. But in order to push the envelope of what is expected in residential living in Calgary, VERSUS, whose podium and towers were designed by Kirkor Architects + Planners and whose interiors were designed by HOK, goes a step further by offering hotel-style amenities. Kirkor partner/architect David Butterworth says, "Gone are the days of the 1960s style monolithic apartment blocks; VERSUS would compete with condominiums in the neighbourhood, and therefore we had to design to even better standards than the competition." This is most evident in the third floor area straddling the 17- and 34-storey towers: here, for no extra fees, residents of VERSUS's 444 suites can enjoy a well-appointed demonstration kitchen, private dining room/boardroom, media lounge, games lounge with a pool table, indoor and outdoor fitness facilities with cardio and strength training equipment, and even a dedicated yoga room featuring an outdoor Zen garden. Upon the property's official opening in January, Darren Durstling, president and CEO of ONE Properties, remarked, "VERSUS is an ideal home for discerning Calgarians who don't want to compromise on location or quality." Durstling also credited Alberta Investment Management Corporation for partnering with ONE to bring this ambitious project to fruition. Although VERSUS' development was challenging on several fronts (deciding what components would comprise hotel-style rental living took enormous thought and planning, as did co-ordinating resources to ensure that the podium and towers were built in a short time frame of slightly less than two years), the project benefitted from Kirkor and HOK being past collaborators on other high-rise residential developments. Because ease of maintenance would be critically important to the managers of this rental project, ONE and the design team agreed early on that simplicity would govern all VERSUS by ROBIN BRUNET aspects of development, from the appearance of the towers right down to the type of flooring used in the suites. As a result, Kirkor designed the podium and the towers to be a tried and true mix of curtain and window wall, with long balconies helping to define each level of the towers, and capped by dramatic sloped-roof penthouses. Two lobbies, on the east and west sides of the property, were designed to be unique to each other in that the eastern corner lobby is a two-storey clear space, while the single-storey western lobby boasts an abundance of mouldings, cornices and trim, counterpointed by modern lighting fixtures and brightly-coloured carpeting. Versatility in the public spaces was important, so the design team developed the third floor amenities area to be segmented when required; however, instead of standard folding walls, sliding wood and glass partitions were chosen for their elegance and durability. As for the residential suites, Joe Pettipas, director of business development for HOK, says, "In many instances, we were able to combine the provision of quality with ease of maintenance. For example, quartz countertops and stainless steel appliances are highly desirable residential elements, but they're also durable." Similarly, neutral colour palettes and continuous flooring materials were selected for ease of maintenance, "plus in the case of the latter it made everything look more spacious," says Pettipas. The building site was unusual in that the previous owner – and Kirkor – had begun a high-rise development only to cancel it after the foundations had been built. "We literally had to restart the project as VERSUS with new working drawings," says Butterworth. "We were given the go ahead to start designing in 2013 with the idea to have the building permit approved by the following December, but due to a great collaborative relationship between us, the City and the design review panel, we received that permit two months early." Gilbert Raynard, principal, Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd., adds, "We had to check to ensure the foundations were built to the standards of the original drawings; then we had to strengthen them to accommodate our different- shaped podium and towers. This meant strengthening and enlarging some of the footings and columns." To which Pettipas adds, "The existing infrastructure meant that the route of HVAC and other components sometimes conflicted with our best suite layouts; but great communication between all parties really defined this project, so we all sat together when required and determined solutions, which often were as basic as moving or turning HVAC systems." The pre-existing foundations to a degree simplified the construction phase, which commenced in mid April of 2015; once the mixed-use podium with its varying floor plates was complete, Ledcor's construction of the

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