Proposition

We propose an architectural response that aims to repair scars left within the existing urban condition through anti-oppressive design practices that promote equity and spatial justice.

We seek to intervene in the cityscape and produce projects that embody ideals of equity and spatial justice through an integrated public realm where the architectural built form and its programming generates reciprocity, strengthens diverse communities, and promotes a holistic notion of sustainability.

We seek to contribute to evolving our understandings of public and private space.

ReciproCITY

University of Calgary School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Spring 2021 ARCH 688 ReciproCITY Architecture Studio

This spring, architecture students at the University of Calgary embarked on an intensive six-week design studio with a focus on an architectural response which aims to repair scars left within the existing urban condition through anti-oppressive design practices that promotes equity and spatial justice. 

The project proposals are intended to exist outside of the bounds of for-profit development strategies that currently dominate Calgary's downtown core and urban sprawl. They are unsolicited design proposals rooted in community consultation intended to spark dialogue about what our city could be. 

 The studio envisions an equitable future for Calgary, with the crucial redevelopment of the currently inequitable built environment.  

We are living through the precipice of a societal and cultural evolution, one that looks to address the notions of equity and equality. The ultimate success of this evolution remains in question as disparity exists within the city. Historically, opportunity was seen as limitless, but the reality was one which access has been limited. We challenge the authoritative hierarchy of space based on the traditional notion of permanence and transaction through exploration of global themes of systemic disparity, policy, density, and overlooked collaborations through a cross-disciplinary lens.

In looking to understand the parameters that influence social change this studio focused on the voids and vacancies that exist in a portion of the central core of Calgary, the leftovers of a previous era. How can these ambiguous spaces be re-envisioned to spark reciprocal community-based relationships in the urban realm? The proposals generated incorporate the parameters necessary for a consciously designed and adaptable architecture rooted in spatial justice; fostering equitable and liveable communities that support opportunity and recognize multidimensional forms of citizenship. These projects are not architectural responses alone, but ones where the response is incorporated within a framework that fosters universal access.