Beauty, Vitality And Sustainability Becoming Integral Parts of Sustainable Design

Building a community is like telling a story. It begins with the design, a framework incorporating elements of beauty, vitality and sustainability.

To become a best-seller, a community's story must be about more than a collection of isolated walls and roofs connected by pavement. It must say something about its inhabitants, their lifestyle and values.

"That's a compelling role for many designers, to get involved in expressing what the story of a place is, or the story of people or a community," says Peter Poole, of Arctos & Bird, a Banff-based developer and building manager.

The story's setting is as important to its development as its characters. For people to have an enduring and abiding love of their spot, they need it to be beautiful, says Poole. That means designing aesthetically appealing structures as well as eye-pleasing indoor and outdoor spaces.

For instance, Arctos & Bird's new Cave Avenue development boasts green or vegetated roofs that blend the residential and commercial buildings into the majestic landscape. The roof-line peaks mimic the mountains and light-maximizing windows merge the outdoors and indoors.

"The aesthetics in the architectural design extends to the landscaping: using native plants, creating common spaces, promoting community interaction," says Poole. "Combining these elements in an overall design is what gives a community, or the story, life."

The inclusion of a comfortable, common space in a design allows for self-organiz­ing behaviour, where people work together to create a benefit that will define and connect their community, like the thread between characters ties a story together.

Where a group of residential units contains fewer than 50 people, says Poole, relationships form and common goals are realized. People will also choose to live in a community that meets their individual needs. Given today's high cost of housing and growing societal con­cern about preserving and protecting the environment, those individual needs include a desire for living spaces that are safe, vital, beautiful and rich in community spirit.

Not everyone wants - or can afford - a massive home in traditionally-designed and built suburbs.

Many people prefer a housing co-operative that contains a communal workshop or a mixed-use building, providing both a place to work and live.

"What ends up happening is neighbours might build a shed together, or combine their efforts in another way, and thereby create and share something that becomes a key part of their community," says Poole. "By investing in the commons, people will end up creating their own community."

Another Arctos & Bird example is Bison Courtyard, a mixed-use building blending 30,000 square feet of retail, residential and restaurant space, all designed to mimic the environment. The building wraps around a courtyard, providing a street-front presence for all ground-floor businesses.

Its public spaces have become a buzz of cultural activity in Banff, with tenants making their own contribution through creative lease agreements. Pedestrians and residents alike can enjoy an outdoor fireplace and bake oven, along with gardens of indigenous plants, which are beginning to take root.

The courtyard boasts a festive atmosphere that is often enhanced with live music and the opportunity for hands-on involvement, such as decorating gingerbread, learning to make moccasins or carving an organic pumpkin.

Says Poole: "Neigh­bours look to each other to raise one another's standards and enhance the over­all look and purpose of their spaces."