White: Bruce McKenzie towers among Calgary architects

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When it comes to multi-family residential development in Calgary, Bruce McKenzie is the Lanny McDonald of architects. McKenzie is retiring at the end of the year after 17 years as vice-president of business development NORR Calgary office and 16 years with Poon McKenzie Architects.

He has been responsible for designing and/or managing the construction of more condos in Calgary than anyone in the city’s history. NORR researchers informed me he has been directly involved in the construction of more than 45,000 homes in Calgary, Canmore, Edmonton and British Columbia over the past 45-plus years. Amazing!

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McKenzie moved to Calgary in 1979 after graduating from the University of Manitoba’s Architecture School to take an intern architect position at Chandler Kennedy Architectural Group. In January 1991, he and fellow architect Ron Poon joined forces to set up their own practice and when Poon McKenzie Architects submitted a bid to design the Bow office tower, they caught the attention of NORR, a mega global architectural firm. NORR, looking to establish a Calgary office at the time, asked Poon and McKenzie to join their firm. At NORR, McKenzie became vice-president, business development, which resulted in NORR becoming Calgary’s leading multi-family residential architectural firm.

McKenzie’s Portfolio

One of my favourite downtown Calgary condos is McKenzie’s twin tower Five West project built in 2006 and 2008 at the south side of the Louise Bridge. I love the combination of warm Tyndall stone and brick facade of the towers with the tapered ornamental metal blue roof and blue windows that together create a timeless skyscraper design that is visually engaging from all sides. It creates a welcoming northwest entrance to downtown.

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Another of my favourite McKenzie condos is Ezra on Riley Park, which has a classic modern design with two mid-rise buildings each with a two-storey stone podium. The street-level townhomes, with the floor to ceiling clear glass condos above and the set-back from the street, combine to create a pedestrian-friendly experience. And the flat roof and large balconies give it a contemporary twist on mid-century modern design.

Mckenzie also worked with NORR’s Dubai office and architect Yahya Jan to design the futuristic-looking three 41-storey West Village Towers (two towers have been completed; the third is to start soon) that serve as the 9th Avenue gateway to downtown.

Other Calgary city centre towers designed by McKenzie and his team are The Hat East Village, The Hat 14th, Point on The Bow and LaCaille on The Park. He has also been instrumental in the design of affordable housing projects like Bishop O’Byrne, Lions Club (one of my other favourites) and Trinity Glamorgan.

Recently, he has also been instrumental in NORR’s involvement in three office-to-residential developments, helping transition the edges of downtown from an office precinct into a mixed-use community.

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McKenzie has shaped of Calgary’s suburbs with not only the design of major multi-family residential developments including Waterside and The Streams in Mahogany, Les Jardin in Quarry Park and Willows on 77th, but also the development of master plans for Westman Village, Mahogany and Midfield Heights.

Legacy Project

McKenzie is “going out with a bang” as he is the lead architect for the Calgary Co-op and Truman’s ambitious Marda Loop project that will see an entire block redeveloped with the seemingly strange name “Marc and Mada.” But actually, the name isn’t that strange — Marc and Mada Jenkins were the founders of the Marda Theatre that operated on the block from 1953 to 1988.

It is probably one of the most complex, mixed-use projects Calgary has ever seen. It includes 458 homes (including 48 affordable homes) in three buildings (tallest is proposed to be 19 storeys), as well as a Calgary Co-op grocery store, six independent retail spaces and four levels of parking (696 stalls). McKenzie’s experience, creativity and knowledge of the city’s residential policies were instrumental in transitioning the vision for this block to reality.

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Ironically, McKenzie’s most futuristic design never got built. Back in 2009, NORR was commissioned by a Korean developer to design a hotel/condo in Eau Claire. The plan called for construction in three phases, a 12-storey hotel at the base followed by two towers above with a curved glass atrium that connected them at the 38th floor to create what looked like a huge Plus-38 bridge.

Last Word

Ironically, McKenzie and I were both at the University of Manitoba at the same time in the 1970s but never met, even though I was studying in the Plant Science Building across the street from the Architecture School. And even though we have both been in Calgary for 40-plus years, we didn’t really get to know each other until he started emailing me his thoughts on my Calgary Herald columns a few years ago.

I have come to respect McKenzie’s insightful and pragmatic approach to urban design and his immense contribution to making Calgary an attractive place to live. It will be interesting to see what he does in retirement — rumour has it the garage will become his art studio.

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