Empty office, residential dream

If our urban core is where one can live, work and play…how can we ensure that access to living includes every Calgarian? Affordable housing is a crucial part of creating an equitable city. How do we create a vibrant downtown, complete with unique building challenges, while taking care of those who are in need of housing?

Join d.talks on a tour of an office building conversion called Sierra Place that will provide 92 units of affordable housing downtown. Developed by HomeSpace, a nonprofit organization that provides safe, appropriate, and affordable housing for vulnerable Calgarians, and in partnership with the Calgary Drop-in Centre, this 10-storey development will be converted from office to residential in the summer of 2022.

The tour will take us through the history of the building and discuss the process of the conversion. From the massive HVAC system in the basement to the office floors that will be converted into residences, we will visit the present and the future of the design.

Guiding us will be Jonny Hehr, Managing Director of Design at Gibbs Gage Architects (Architect AAA) and Matt Vermunt, Director of Acquisition and Development at HomeSpace Society, in conversation with d.talks volunteer Lili Wang. 

This tour has been made possible by the planning assistance of Darshan Tailor and Mark Cooper in conjunction with d.talks mx Committee, which is focused on building unique and uncanny experiences for d.talks members and the general public to connect with their city.