The Construction Source

FAAS Architecture is a firm of designers, builders, and place-makers, all of whom are committed to “doing things a little differently.” On every job, no matter how large or small, they believe in taking a rigor- ous and rational approach, and in collaborating and engaging with all stakeholders at a high level. They gather information from all sources, including the site, the client, the communi- ty, and relevant experts, and they turn that information into practical, realistic solutions that best achieve everyone’s goals. The firm’s goals, meanwhile, are twofold – they want to de- sign buildings that actually get made, and they want to make the communities they work in more liveable. While pursuing those goals, they have consis- tently earned loyalty and repeat business from their customers, as well as acclaim from their in- dustry peers. Most recently, the firm was ac- claimed by the Mayor’s Urban Design Awards (MUDAs) for their work with the City of Cal- gary on an affordable housing project in the community of Rosedale. The MUDAs are held every two years, and are bestowed to companies that “leave a legacy of high calibre urban design” and “help set the standard for future municipal planning and development.” There are only 12 categories, and the winners are decided – contrary to the awards’ name – by a panel of ex- pert judges, who come together for a full day of discussion and debate before determining a winner for each category. On October 24, 2019, at the eighth biannual awards, FAAS Architecture – along with their partners at the City of Calgary – was named the winner of the prestigious and highly-compet- itive ‘Housing Innovation’ cate- gory. “There were a lot of strong con- tenders in that category,” says Michael Farrar, founder and partner of FAAS. “We were flat- tered and surprised by the win, and we are very appreciative.” The award-winning project in question – called ‘Rosedale Af- fordable Housing’ – was a de- sign-build, multi-unit project delivered in collaboration with builder Sherger Construction. The premise of the project was to create eight modular struc- tures on remnant parcels, each with a self-contained secondary suite, with a total developed area ranging from 1150 to 1600 square feet per unit. All units were designed with three major objectives in mind – they had to JULY 2020