Since we first introduced MoDA's BV20 proposal in January, the SkyriseCalgary community has registered their enthusiasm for the project, which looks to circumvent the typical multi-family building typology proliferating the Calgary residential market. As work on finalizing the development went on behind the scenes, MoDA has announced that the sales launch for the project, now named 'GROW', will be held this Sunday.

GROW employs a terraced system of cuts in the massing, image by Turbulent via MoDA

The highly anticipated launch will take place on August 20 from 2 to 6 PM at Our Daily Brett on 14 Street SW, mere steps from the project site at 2418 16A Street SW. Backed by local developer RNDSQR, the 20-unit building embraces the uneven topography of its Bankview setting, and employs a series of gradients as a defining characteristic that informs the overall idiom.

The development subverts the usual formula for residential buildings by situating parking at grade. Not only will this save on construction costs and speed up the project's realization, but it facilitates the unique geometries of the building. The nearly 20-foot height difference between the southeast and northwest corners of the site is treated as an asset — the terraced effect democratizes light and views for units that would normally be arranged within an unadulterated and conservative massing strategy.

The parking garage is situated at grade instead of underground, image by Turbulent via MoDA

A material palette of weathered cedar siding and vertical aluminum grating will eventually be sheathed in thick climbing foliage, adding visual interest and privacy benefits for residents. The rooflines of the topographic bars that are created by the cuts in the massing will certainly not go to waste: a pathway from the second floor amenity space leads to the pinnacle of the building, essentially becoming a rooftop park that opens up opportunities for dog walking, urban gardening and neighbourly interaction.

GROW differs from the norm by thinking of residential architecture as an altruistic platform for social good, not just a place where people live, but where experiences can be had. Every space appears to be used to its peak potential, offering a blueprint for intensification and infill in mature neighbourhoods that doesn't overwhelm its surroundings, but sees the site's constituent elements as advantages instead of barriers.

The rooftop becomes a platform for recreation, image by Turbulent via MoDA

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