Calgary may not be known for its attention to architecture in the past, but it looks like that might be starting to change.
Azure magazine, one of North America's leading architecture magazines, has named two Calgary projects in their 'Top 10 Projects of 2012.'
Both the Bow Tower and the Peace Bridge were named to the Toronto-based periodical's list. Calgary was the only Canadian city to be named to the list and the only city to make the list twice.
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Azure's Top 10 Architectural Projects of 2012
According to Azure, the Peace Bridge made the #3 cut:
In March, Calgary cut the ribbon on a spectacular new pedestrian and cycling bridge by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The steel structure spans 130 metres and connects the downtown core with residential areas on the other side of the Bow River. Painted a brilliant red on the exterior and white internally, the long, lean structure has a glass roof and integrated linear lighting for night-time illumination. A dedicated bike lane runs down the centre with foot traffic travelling along elevated sidewalks on either side. Calgarians may have grumbled about the project’s high cost and delayed schedule, but a reported 6,000 people are now using the bridge daily, a much higher number than expected.
Azure selected the Bow Tower as their #10 project :
Along with the new Peace Bridge by Calatrava, Calgary also inaugurated its tallest skyscraper this year, designed by Foster + Partners. The 58-storey glass and steel structure, headquarters for EnCana and Cenovus, is packed with sustainable attributes; top among them is the building’s curved form that’s designed to use sunlight to heat the interior. The Bow may not be a major project for the famous U.K. firm that’s engineered some of the most sophisticated structures in the world – including Virgin’s new space-travel terminal in the New Mexican desert – but it is an important symbol for the oil-rich city that’s just beginning to pay attention to the look of its downtown core and to the quality of its buildings.
Other projects named to Azure's list include Book Mountain in Rotterdam, the CCTV building in Beijing and London's Olympic Park.
Calgary also made Azure's '10 Projects We’re Following in 2013' list, with the construction of the National Music Centre of Canada.
