Converted office building to become new UCalgary architecture campus

A different type of office conversion is coming to downtown Calgary.

The city and the University of Calgary say they’ve joined forces to transform an underused office tower at 801 7 Avenue SW into an academic, teaching, and resource space.

“The expansion of the University of Calgary’s downtown campus is a key part of revitalizing our city’s core,” said Mayor Jyoti Gondek. “This project breathes new life into underused office space, bringing more than a thousand students into the west end and transforming it into a vibrant, dynamic area. By strengthening ties between post-secondary institutions and businesses, we’re driving economic growth, while making downtown a safer and more active place for all.”

According to the city, the expansion of the university’s downtown campus will develop 180,000 square feet into the new home for UCalgary’s School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape (SAPL).

“We already have a significant presence in downtown Calgary with the School of Public Policy and the Faculty of Education,” UCalgary president Ed McCauley told CityNews.

“This just expands our presence and will add students and vibrancy in this area.”

The building will include design studios, classrooms, research spaces, a robotic fabrication workshop, an exhibition gallery, and a community-facing design justice lab.

The recently renovated building atrium will be regularly used by SAPL for public lectures and events focused on city building.

Sana Dassouki, an undergraduate student working on her Bachelor of Design and City Innovation, says the seven-floor expansion for the students will be “fantastic” for connecting with the greater Calgary community and fellow students.

“This place is actually very, very nice and I feel it invites opportunity for talking with other people, interactions with one another, while our previous space was very limited,” she said.

“It is just going to be full of potential for intermixing, engaging with people in the city and outside of the city, and other industry professionals in the building. I think it’s going to be fantastic for both social and educational improvement.”

Funding for the project is coming from the City of Calgary’s Downtown Post-Secondary Institution Incentive (PSI) Program, which will provide $9 million in support.

“All the neighboring businesses are going to benefit from that, and these students will be immersed in this city building at its finest,” Gondek explained.

This campus expansion will allow all 400 of the current SAPL graduates as well as the 800 new undergraduates.

The city says this project contributes to the goal of strengthening the downtown west end, alongside a CTrain Station, Century Gardens Park, and housing.

Last month, Calgary announced four office-to-residential conversion projects happening within two blocks of each other in the west end.