In the course of our daily reporting, we often uncover unusual projects, places, or connections that don't make the final cut. Instead of keeping it to ourselves, we're pleased to share our Architrivia.

Like many of the historic and trendsetting buildings we highlight in our Architrivia feature, the Canada Life Assurance Building was constructed at the height of Calgary's pre-First World War building boom. Now a part of the Bankers Hall complex, the six-storey property at 301 8 Avenue SW embodies the spirit of Louis Sullivan, the "father of the skyscraper", and the Chicago School style of architecture, which embraced the latest building technologies.

Canada Life Assurance Building, image retrieved from Google Street View

Supported by a steel and concrete skeleton, the 1912-erected Canada Life Assurance Building typified the Chicago School's emphasis on advanced construction materials, ridding architects from the need to implement load-bearing masonry exterior walls. Designed by influential Montreal-based architects Brown and Vallance, terra cotta cladding and vertical window arrangements give the building its exterior charm. The ground level was animated by shops, while multiple levels of office space occupied the rest of the volume. 

Also known as the Hollinsworth Building, the provincial historic resource historically served as a magnet for Calgary's professional and business class. Today, it remains the only surviving Brown and Vallance design in Alberta.