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Urban Development and Proposals Discussion

It's interesting how these neighbourhood distinctions change over time. The area around MacLeod was originally planned as Calgary's civic centre. That's why you have all the brutalist/pseudo-brutalist institutional buildings along this stretch, including Harry Hays in the North, the CBE, old central library, US consulate, etc. Obviously it never really cohered into an actual district, probably because it's centred on a one-way car sewer and the unfortunate architectural trends at the time. And now many of the government functions have fled to other areas. Edmonton was much more successful in creating a coherent civic centre around Churchill Square.
 
I'm Interested in knowing what will happen to the old brutalist CBE headquarters and the Family of Man statues. It might be cool to have the building renovated and reopened as an art gallery like the Centennial Planetarium was along with a new entrance with the statues at the centre.
 
I'm Interested in knowing what will happen to the old brutalist CBE headquarters and the Family of Man statues. It might be cool to have the building renovated and reopened as an art gallery like the Centennial Planetarium was along with a new entrance with the statues at the centre.
I remember seeing drawings done up for a conversion to a museum of some kind - I don't think it was a student project or spec work.
 
I'd say it's the most interesting/nice brutalist structure we have, by a considerable margin.
 
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It really is a beautiful building.
just needs some trees

Edit:
Came across this while looking for those pics
Does anyone know what it is/was for? Looks to me like a case study
 
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Interesting find with that concept. That would be amazing. I'm sure we'll get something unimaginative like a twin point tower block though. Maybe quadruplets. They even did a second concept:


Also from that website was this concept for the Badlands motorsport resort. I thought that died on the vine years ago. Here's hoping it stays dead. That area is beautiful and bucolic and would be ruined by such a development.

 
I don't care for brutalism either, except in a few cases. If it's a small unique use type building like the Planetarium, I'm fine with it but I don't generally like it for larger buildings. Generally beton brut buildings are quite hostile to the public realm, cold and uninviting.
 
With the original fountain it had, and the way the grounds were beautifully kept at first, this thing could be restored to a really beautiful public space on the exterior, and a cool institutional space inside.
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