Sinclair Tall Building Studio: Calgary
2010, University of Calgary, Professor Brian Sinclair

Located in the Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta, these projects explore design inspired by local qualities including biology, ecology, geography and geology. Close attention to site and cultural issues informed numerous characteristics of the team-based tall building projects. A creative mix of uses and users was encouraged in this studio, including the incorporation of a cultural center as a key amenity.

The studio incorporated a month-long research phase which examined such issues as open building, the Metabolist Movement, branding of buildings, and innovations in construction. As the design phases of the studio unfolded numerous field trips were executed including a comprehensive on-site study of the Bow Building by Sir Norman Foster. In addition to a wealth of reviewers (architects & developers) engaged through the term the studio also had the benefit of engineers (structural and mechanical) who provided counsel and feedback to student teams. In the end all three projects were dramatically different in expression and location (students were permitted to site their projects anywhere within the city’s core area). 

The Apasstaan (The Bridge)
Nooshin Esmaeili & Branka Jovanovic
 
Apasstaan is a high-rise tower project located in the east of Calgary, Canada. The community is located far to the east of the city and it is often called the undeveloped area. Poor communities are evident throughout east village near the Bow River and the LRT tracks in Calgary.
  Pas de Deux
Ghazaleh Safarzadeh & Somayeh Mousazadeh
 
Pas de deux addresses the smooth movement of grass with the wind. The building consists of more than 100 stories. The structure in this building typology is a key consideration, and thus was a major focus of the design.
Skystone
Jill Jaber Akl & Cameron Ashe
 
Skystone is located along the Bow River in the Eau Claire Market area of Calgary. Part of its inspiration came from the 1914 Mawson Plan, a proposal by Thomas Mawson, which was a beautifully elaborate plan to give Calgary a world-renowned identity.