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Today we take a look at Calgary's Battistella Developments and their incredible run in the Calgary residential development scene that started with inner-city infills and eventually continued to highrise buildings.
Battistella is well known in the Calgary area, especially to local urbanites and architecture geeks who are very familiar with their developments, as they have continually come out with designs that are ahead of the curve. Some of their projects like Connaught Gardens, Orange Lofts, Sola Vista, or Colours are examples of styles that were new to Calgary and helped raise the bar in local design.
The company was started in Calgary back in 1980, founded by Giovanni Battistella and his wife Jacqueline. Giovanni was a bricklayer and Jacqueline had a master's degree in Psychology, but they decided to try their hand at building infills in Calgary. They were one of the first to do so, and in fact their very first client was David Watson, the recently retired General Manager of Planning at the City. They would continue to build inner-city multi-family projects including the Jeremy Sturgess-designed Connaught Gardens, which has become very well known and is used as an example of evolving architecture in Calgary.
Their sons Paul and Simon would help out on weekends and summers, and the experience would no doubt come in handy as the two sons would eventually take the reins. Paul started working in oil and gas, but when an opportunity arose to work with his parents on a larger multifamily project in 1994, Paul jumped at the chance. Simon finished up his education in architectural technology and also joined the fold.
A few years later Simon and Paul began to take over the day-to-day operations, and their first project in this capacity was the Orange Lofts in Calgary's East Village. The design, which was unique to Calgary and way ahead of its time, was spawned by Jacqueline while visiting an artist live/work project on the west coast. She felt something like that would work in Calgary's East Village.
These days, Calgary's East Village is a neighbourhood on the move that is evolving at a rapid pace. Even with all of the new buildings rising in the area, the Orange Lofts building still fits in nicely while maintaining a very unique style.
After the Orange Lofts, the brothers embarked on some large-scale projects, starting with Chocolate and Colours, a pair of high-rise condominium projects located within a block of each other in Calgary's Beltline. Both towers had designs focused around a sleek modern glass aesthetic. This look was already popular in cities like Vancouver and Toronto but was new to Calgary. The multi-coloured design of the above-ground parkade at Colours was an immediate favourite among architecture enthusiasts, adding a splash of colour in an area that was mostly nondescript.
Despite the success of the large-scale projects, Battistella continued to develop small- and medium-scale projects as well. Brunette, a four-storey, 20-unit building was built in 2011. Pixel and Lido were medium-scale developments built in 2014, and 2016 respectively. Both buildings have been well regarded and are notable developments in Calgary's Kensington area.
Battistella's latest project is the 199-unit, 14-storey INK, located in East Village, just a stone's throw from where it all started for Paul and Simon. The project has broken ground and construction is well underway.
As for what's next, Battistella has a site in Calgary's Killarney neighbourhood that ties into the area's current Main Streets initiative, and that might become the next development location. Stay tuned.
When Paul Battistella was asked about any particular projects he'd like to do for Calgary, his response was "I'd love to do something truly iconic in Calgary. The challenge has always been is Calgary ready for it. Either from a design standpoint or to pay for it." Judging by what they have done in the past, there will likely be more good things to come from Battistella.
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