Modern Office of Design + Architecture (MODA)
Owner/ Client: Andrei Metelitsa
Interior area / exterior area, in square metres:
1,802 sm (Interior) and 856 sm (exterior - urban farm)
Construction contract value / building cost of the project: $4.78 million
Date of Occupancy: July 1, 2020
GROW is a 20-unit multi-residential housing project cultivating a diverse inner-city community in Bankview, Calgary AB. The project, made up of varying unit sizes, is bound together by the social element of a barrier-free, 0.6 acre rooftop urban farm. Folding required design constraints and private/public amenity provisions together into this terraced ‘socialscape’, GROW encourages social resilience and inclusivity through the provision of fresh produce for its residents and community.
GROW has reconnected people with the process of growing their own food. This creates a realignment with the natural world and a positive change with respect to an individual’s mental and physical health, while fostering the beginnings of community and belonging in a world that continues to distance and alienate people from one another.
GROW is more than just another inner-city housing development; it is a plea for a more equitable, inclusive, diverse and sustainable world.
Abridged Project Credits:
(see Architecture Canada publication out in Fall 2024 for more details)
Architecture - Modern Office of Design + Architecture (MODA)
Interior Design - Modern Office of Design + Architecture (MODA)
Landscape Architecture - Modern Office of Design + Architecture (MODA)
Urban Farming Consultant - YYC Growers
Energy Modelling - EMBE Consulting Engineers
Envelope/ Sustainability Engineering - Williams Engineering
Civil Engineering - Richview Engineering
Structural Engineering - Wolsey Structural Engineering
Mechanical/ Electrical Engineering - TLJ Engineering Consultants
Builder - RNDSQR + BMP Construction + Signature Properties
Architectural Photography - Ema Peter Photography and MJay Photography
Owner/ Client: Andrei Metelitsa
PHOTO - Ema Peter Photography
PHOTO - Ema Peter Photography
PHOTO - YYCGrowers
PHOTO - Ema Peter Photography
PHOTO - Ema Peter Photography
PHOTO - MJay Photography
PHOTO - MJay Photography
GROW creatively reimagines the typology of a multi-unit residential complex and offers a much-needed new take on collective living. The jury praised the project’s form, program, and organization as a sensitive response to its suburban context. In particular, the clever sculpting of the topography of the ground and the roof levels provides the building with an animated communal stepped garden. The jury also recognized the significance of the project’s contribution as a new case study to the “missing middle” housing crisis.
2024 Jury