As you may know, one of our favourite architecture firms in the world is Bjarke Ingels Group, better known as BIG. Every now and then, we like to check in on the firm to see what they’re up to. This time, we happily discovered that they recently unveiled an amazing design for downtown Calgary.

Telus Sky Tower

Westbank Corp and Allied Properties are developing the site on 7th Avenue, and Telus commissioned BIG to come up with the design. BIG is partnering with Canadian architecture firm, Dialog, to design the project.

We’re not entirely sure how tall Telus Sky Tower will be, but according to BIG’s renderings, it will be one of the tallest in Calgary. Telus Sky Tower will feature office space on the bottom half, and residential on the top half.

We love the way the design seems to transform from an office tower into a residential tower as your eyes climb it. The slight curve gives the tower a flowing figure, while allowing for the exterior to open up into balcony space for the residential units.

A contemporary tower embracing an organic aesthetic is new to Calgary, and so is the idea of a mixed-use tower.

The goal of Telus Sky Tower

This is how BIG describes the major cities of North America: “A cluster of mostly offices form the downtown, surrounded by sprawling residential suburbs. The car is an essential part of everyday life. The programmatic uniformity of the downtown leaves it empty at night when people return home.”

In our recent interview with David Pontarini of Hariri Pontarini Architects, he mentioned that that’s the way Toronto was back in the ‘70s. North American city design was all about segregating uses, but now it’s all about desegregation. We’re trying to make our downtowns more walkable, and that is what BIG is trying to bring to Calgary’s downtown.

Calgary on the rise

Over the past year, murmurs about Calgary being Canada’s next hotspot for investors have grown louder and louder. In our recent infographic about Toronto skyscrapers, we mentioned that Toronto has 10 times more towers under construction or in the planning phases than Calgary, with 112. That means that Calgary has around 10 - one of them being Telus Sky Tower. With fewer options, investing becomes much easier. Some believe that investors in Toronto have slowed down because there are too many options.

Don’t be surprised if Calgary starts seeing more and more mixed-use buildings proposed for its downtown. If the rest are even half as beautiful as Telus Sky Tower, then Calgary will have itself quite the skyline in the next decade or so.

All images from ArchDaily