every single amazing idea came through the proximal nature of people. There’s just something special about the spark of being in front of someone. That really resonates with us. That’s ingrained in who we are as people and what we do as RNDSQR.” For the majority of their history, RNDSQR has focused on building modern, affordable condos and innovative townhomes within the Calgary borders – from Marda Loop to 33rd Avenue SW, from 16A to 29 to 48 Ave SW and far beyond. Recently, the company has expanded their operations into Winnipeg and West Kelowna, British Columbia. Winnipeg, in particular, is now home to the company’s largest project to date. The project in question is located at 90 Alexander Ave. It involved restoring the 16,000 square-foot Great West Metal Building – a heritage building in Winnipeg, created over 100 years ago – and surrounding it with 212 rental apartments, along with some commercial and office space. Alkarim traces the origin of that project to roughly three-and-ahalf years ago, when he heard Johanna Hurme of 5468796 Architecture speaking at a design conference. “Hermessagingreallyresonated with us, so we connected with her and started talking about architecture,” Alkarim says. “She offered to have us come down to Winnipeg to see some of their projects and see what was happening there, so we did that and we were really impressed.” 5468796 Architecture ended up designing a few projects for RNDSQR in Calgary, and the two firms found they collaborated well together. The MARCH 2022
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