Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning has added a prestigious Calgary Mayor’s Urban Design Award (MUDA) to an already impressive cache of awards this year. The MUDA — held every two years to celebrate the contributions the design community makes to enhance the quality of life in the city — was for their design of the Esker Foundation Gallery.
As the largest privately funded, non-commercial gallery in Calgary, the Esker Foundation Gallery is a model example of design excellence and social consciousness. The Gallery seamlessly combines leading edge advancements in gallery practices and educational aspirations. Located in Inglewood, one of Calgary’s oldest neighborhoods, the Gallery is influential in its cultural reach and an inspiration to the surrounding neighborhood and arts community.
“This project is a point of pride on many levels” notes Lois Wellwood, principal in charge for the design of the gallery. “The City of Calgary MUDA in the Urban Fragments category caps an unbelievable year for the Gallery and Kasian. We truly delivered on the mandate of making the space an instantly recognizable icon-in-the-city.”
As a recipient of a City of Calgary Mayor’s Urban Design Award, The Esker Foundation Gallery automatically advances to the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) National Urban Design Awards being held in 2014.
In addition, Kasian received Gold and two Bronze from the Interior Designers of Alberta (IDA) awards gala held earlier in the month. The Esker Foundation Gallery claimed Gold in the Institutional / Health Care Category and Bronze from the Special Projects Category. Kasian’s design for their new Calgary office was also recognized at the ceremony, receiving Bronze in the Office Space under $80.00 / sq.ft category. So far this year, Kasian projects have won 17 awards, including seven for the Esker Foundation Gallery.
“With each passing year, we see more great design within our city and throughout Alberta” says Wellwood. “I am so proud of our neighbor, The Esker Foundation Gallery, and its iconic presence in the city’s design scene. We are honored to be recognized for our contributions to the city, and very much hope that our work inspires and enriches our fellow Calgarians.”