architecture

Cutting-Edge Design

Calgary architect Fred Valentine remembers Nova Corp. of Alberta CEO Robert Blair as deriving from a “19th century tradition.” >

The Green Gold Standard

BACK In the 1980s when Tom Sutherland was a bright-eyed university student, a group of professors were teaching pupils that buildings should work with the environment rather than against it. Sutherland listened to their views, but didn’t put much stock into their preaching. “To us kids who didn’t grow up in the ’60s, their talk sounded like a dying ember,” says Sutherland. >

The Office of the Future

Trend #1 Sustainable design

Sprawling across four parcels of land, EnCana Corporation’s proposed downtown office complex in Calgary will set a new standard in architectural design. The building, to be designed by the British architectural firm Foster and Partners, is expected to be more than two million-square feet, retain a village-like feel and possibly house Calgary’s tallest towers. While the building’s impressive size will, no doubt, attract gawks from passersby, the real achievement is that it’s being designed, built and operated as a sustainable building. >

Insurance Can Be Cool

Company Lloyd Sadd Insurance Brokers Ltd., Edmonton
Interior Go Design Group Inc. >

Edmonton BMW

Company: Edmonton BMW
Function: Sales and service space for BMW and Mini dealership
Dimensions: 5,000 square feet on two floors
Architect: Ken Williams, Architechnics Ltd. >

Taking it to the Street

The right entranceway can make a great first impression >

Great Space

Company: Constellation NewEnergy Canada Inc., Bankers Hall West, Calgary >

Great Space

Company: World Trade Centre Edmonton >

Mynt Ultralounge Ltd.

Company: Mynt Ultralounge Ltd., downtown Calgary

Function: Mynt Ultralounge is a multi-level cocktail and dance lounge catering to Calgary’s young professionals as well as serving as a venue for corporate events. On the main floor, a bar and stage area complement raised “cabana” booths and freestanding seating areas. On the lower level, there is another private lounge space, a dance floor, additional raised booths and three bars, plus kitchen (complete with walk-in coolers and a freezer), storage space and an office, which accommodates two managers. A rooftop patio is in the works for summer 2004.

The word nightclub wasn’t even in our vocabulary,” recalls Darcy Chalifoux, managing partner of Mynt
Ultralounge. “It was an ‘ultralounge,’ more intimate.” When Chalifoux and his associates decided to turn a downtown space occupied by the former Embassy nightclub into a gathering spot for Calgary’s young corporate professionals, their vision was to create a multi-room lounge environment with
sophisticated aesthetics. “We felt that in Calgary, being so much of a metropolitan city, lounge-goers were being shortchanged,” says Chalifoux.

While the lounge obviously attracts a variety of hip urbanites, Mynt’s interior was designed with the female clientele in mind. “We wanted to move away from the kind of space that houses neon signs, hard light fixtures and lots of liquor-company branding,” explains Chalifoux. Instead, rich velvets, plush furniture and soft lighting flatter customers at Mynt. Add a few cocktails and some tapas, and you just might think you’ve flown to New York City for the evening.

Design Challenges: The kitchen in the layout used by former tenants was deemed too large for Mynt’s requirements, so the space was redesigned to accommodate a more spacious lounge area.

Dimensions: Main floor: 146 square metres; lower level: 337 square metres; rooftop patio: 110 square metres

Cost: $1 million

Time Factor: Four months; construction began
in October 2003 and the lounge opened in
January 2004.

Credits:
Architecture and Interior Design: Pete Hribar
Company Team Leads: Darcy Chalifoux, Ramsey Hamour and Renny Klinot, managing partners

Why it works: Individualized lounge areas on multiple levels, complete with their own music and vibe, allow guests to experience a number of different moods in one evening. “It’s perfect for networking,” says Chalifoux.

What they’d change: More office space would have been appreciated as well as more under-bar storage for the bartenders, but overall, everyone is happy with the renovations.

Unique Features

1) O Room: Downstairs, Mynt created a perfectly round room with a round bar (aptly named the O Bar). “It’s the room that always gets the most attention,” says Chalifoux. “It’s very striking.”

2) Lighting: Every light in the Mynt space is on a dimmer, allowing complete control of light levels and mood at any time of day. Pendant lighting gives intimacy to booth space; recessed lighting on sculpture panels downstairs creates the illusion of windows; rope lighting, mounted bar lighting and other special lighting touches give the space a warm glow.

3) Glass cube: The centrepiece of the lounge is the “glass cube,” a raised stage area that appears to float above and behind the main floor bar. The space was designed to accommodate Mynt’s regular musical performers.

4) Exposed brick and timbers: Chalifoux and his team stripped down the Mynt space to its 1940s bones, exposing the brick and structural timbers that give the space its loft-like appeal. Then they went one step further, installing additional timbers to delineate one of the seating areas and add more character.