Calgary's King Eddy Set to Become City's Crown Jewel
By Nancy Tousley
By Nancy Tousley
Calgary Herald
CALGARY - The ambition and scale of the $100-million project that will transform the Cantos Music Foundation into the National Music Centre at the King Eddy comes into sharp focus with the architects' visions of what Calgary's newest cultural centre could be like.
Call it the wow factor. It is present in a different way in each of the five dramatic designs by leading architects who are the finalists in an international design competition: Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works, Portland, Ore.; Bernard Beisell of Ateliers Jean Nouvel, Paris; Elizabeth Diller of Diller, Scofidio+Renfro, New York; Gilles Saucier and Andre Perrotte of Saucier + Perrotte, Montreal; and Zoltan Pali of SPF:a, Los Angeles.
The architects were asked to design a new home for Cantos which will be located on 9th Avenue S. E. and will straddle 4th Street S. E. to connect a renovated King Edward Hotel with a new building across the street. They presented their proposals Thursday to a sold-out audience at the Grand theatre.
The building has multiple aspects, including the preservation of a historic landmark, a collections display, presentation spaces for live music, two recording studios, a radio broadcast studio for CKUA, educational spaces and public spaces such as a restaurant and bar.
Adding to the attraction is the project's position as a gateway to the East Village and a catalyst in its redevelopment by the Calgary Municipal Land Corp., as well as the creation of a music district.
"One amazing thing here is it's not only about one building," says Bertram Beisell.
"This is a fascinating process going on with Cantos and the CMLC as they are preparing to redevelop the East Village. The way they are going about this is a little bit unusual in the sense that if you say cities are about bringing people together, that's just what they do, what they are saying is that music can play an important role in doing that. "You build an opera house, or you build a theatre, and it's an isolated monument, but here they are trying to do more than that. They're
trying to build a concert hall and then a research centre and now you are beginning to get a density of institutions that defines a musical district for this neighbourhood. I think that could work. It's a very interesting approach that you use music as a theme and you use these institutions as an anchor for the character of this neighbourhood. I haven't seen that before and I find it very innovative and strong."
The total cost of the project includes $75 million for a new building and $25 million for an endowment fund. Fundraising is well underway, says communications manager Cami Leard. Cantos is seeking $25-million contributions from the federal, provincial and municipal governments and $25 million from a capital campaign. Confirmation of the city contribution is expected this fall. The winning architectural proposal will be announced in September.
CALGARY - The ambition and scale of the $100-million project that will transform the Cantos Music Foundation into the National Music Centre at the King Eddy comes into sharp focus with the architects' visions of what Calgary's newest cultural centre could be like.
Call it the wow factor. It is present in a different way in each of the five dramatic designs by leading architects who are the finalists in an international design competition: Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works, Portland, Ore.; Bernard Beisell of Ateliers Jean Nouvel, Paris; Elizabeth Diller of Diller, Scofidio+Renfro, New York; Gilles Saucier and Andre Perrotte of Saucier + Perrotte, Montreal; and Zoltan Pali of SPF:a, Los Angeles.
The architects were asked to design a new home for Cantos which will be located on 9th Avenue S. E. and will straddle 4th Street S. E. to connect a renovated King Edward Hotel with a new building across the street. They presented their proposals Thursday to a sold-out audience at the Grand theatre.
The building has multiple aspects, including the preservation of a historic landmark, a collections display, presentation spaces for live music, two recording studios, a radio broadcast studio for CKUA, educational spaces and public spaces such as a restaurant and bar.
Adding to the attraction is the project's position as a gateway to the East Village and a catalyst in its redevelopment by the Calgary Municipal Land Corp., as well as the creation of a music district.
"One amazing thing here is it's not only about one building," says Bertram Beisell.
"This is a fascinating process going on with Cantos and the CMLC as they are preparing to redevelop the East Village. The way they are going about this is a little bit unusual in the sense that if you say cities are about bringing people together, that's just what they do, what they are saying is that music can play an important role in doing that. "You build an opera house, or you build a theatre, and it's an isolated monument, but here they are trying to do more than that. They're
trying to build a concert hall and then a research centre and now you are beginning to get a density of institutions that defines a musical district for this neighbourhood. I think that could work. It's a very interesting approach that you use music as a theme and you use these institutions as an anchor for the character of this neighbourhood. I haven't seen that before and I find it very innovative and strong."
The total cost of the project includes $75 million for a new building and $25 million for an endowment fund. Fundraising is well underway, says communications manager Cami Leard. Cantos is seeking $25-million contributions from the federal, provincial and municipal governments and $25 million from a capital campaign. Confirmation of the city contribution is expected this fall. The winning architectural proposal will be announced in September.
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