Calgary, Canada
Modern Office of Design + Architecture in collaboration with landscape architect Nicholas Tam presents the Grow Residence, a 20-unit, multi-residential housing project that cultivates a diverse inner-city community through the provision of varying unit sizes, using the binding social element of a barrier-free, 0.6 acre rooftop urban farm.
This amenity-scape, while satisfying stringent landscape and amenity space requirements, introduces urban horticulture in the form of private gardens, vegetative roofs, apiaries, etc. at a scale not previously experienced in inner-city living in Calgary.
It also creates a place to walk the dog or to get a breath of fresh air, encouraging spontaneous interactions amongst residents in an engaging and active context.
To further support social interactions across intergenerational demographic backgrounds, the building’s units suit a range of ages and family sizes, including small studios, medium-sized condos, 1.5 storey lofts, and large two-storey townhomes.
This arrangement potentially places a retired couple next to a young family with children, or a single student next to a young professional, building resilience and social connections through proximity.
Grow Residence presents a reinterpretation of the “privatization” of multi-residential living in which the only opportunities for social interaction typically occur in circulation areas or at the mailbox.
Using both unit diversity and urban farming as a passive, non-forced approach to multi-residential housing, the building’s residents fall within the entire demographic spectrum and can participate in all facets of farming, including spring planting, daily maintenance and care, harvesting, and engaging with the broader community of Calgary through the weekly preparation and sale of harvest baskets.
Project: Grow Residence
Architects: Modern Office of Design + Architecture (MODA)
Design Team: Dustin Couzens, Ben Klumper, Nicholas Tam, and Cara Tretiak
Sustainability Engineers: Williams Engineering
Landscape Architects: Nicholas Tam
Client: Andrei Metelitsa
Photographers: Ema Peter and Michelle Johnson
