Glascurtain Mention

We recently got a mention on the Glascurtain blog. Our client, DWM Developments, was uncompromising in their requirement for large front windows, and Glascurtain offered the solution. From the blog:

Conventional aluminum curtain wall framing would have been too uncomfortable for dinner guests, particularly in the winter months, and punched windows would have been simply too small. [T]he entire front (south-facing) façade utilises our fibreglass composite curtain wall frames with PPG Greylite II glass nestled in between the mullions...

You can read the entire post here.

PS. The blog has an older preliminary rendering. We thought we would treat our blog readers to a more interesting version (above).

Bankview Pair

We've uploaded photos of the Bankview Pair to Houzz!

This Niklas house was built almost nine years ago, but we finally got a chance to shoot it this summer. The main floor is angled slightly towards the view of Calgary's skyline, and hidden above the Hardie-clad second floor, the third floor rises up to an angled height plane (thanks to the old Land Use Bylaw height rules). With three floors over an under drive garage, this plan was a solid solution to a shallow, sloping site with great views.

One of our favourite features is the skylight above the shower on the third floor!

Take a look at the photos here.

Gaulhofer Factory Tour

At Inertia, our designs can sometimes be limited by the products that are locally available. This is particularly true with windows. Luckily, we've had the opportunity to work with Gaulhofer Canada on a number of projects. Gaulhofer's windows have significant performance and design advantages, including the ability to have significantly larger windows and sliding doors.

Last week, Inertia had a chance to tour the Gaulhofer Window factory in Übelbach near Graz, Austria. In the gallery above you can see images from the factory, as well as from some projects in Graz that are using Gaulhofer's windows and doors.

Lift and Slide unit with one small door to the left and a  larger one to the right.

At one of these projects we saw a great use of their lift and slide doors (image above). On one side was a narrow door and on the other was a wider. This is perfect for weather you just want to slip out to barbecue with the small door, or if you want to invite the outdoors in with both doors.

View fullsize

Integral blinds and bug screens.

One of the most interesting discoveries we made was that Gaulhofer can integrate exterior shutters or blinds into their windows. These block out solar gain far more effectively than interior blinds, and also can be used to control privacy and/or security. They can be operated mechanically with rods or straps, or they can be operated with a remote control. They also have retractable bug screens, which are perfect for winter when you don't need them.

Thanks to Gaulhofer, Gaulhofer Canada, Windsor Brunello and Rockcreek for making this tour possible.

A Conversation on Housing Availability

The Urban Development Institute - Calgary and the Canadian Home Builders’ Association - Calgary Region have recently put together a video about housing availably that answers many questions about planning and building during an economic downturn. The perspectives expressed in this video are shared with our progressive clients who know the value of preparing for the future, and in particular, being ready for the next time that demand puts pressure on supply.

Bridgeland Trio

Our Bridgeland Trio is on 10th Street NE in Calgary. If you're interested in looking at more exterior shots, take a look at our singles gallery. Thanks to Gary Campbell for the photos!

Secondary Suite Permit Exemption

From September 1, 2015 to March 3, 2017, the City of Calgary is offering a Development Permit (DP) exemption for Secondary Suites. This means that if your property is permitted to have a Secondary Suite, you can go directly to the Building Permit stage and avoid the fees and delay associated with a DP application.

The City has a web page for suites, but at the time of this post, the page is misleading. It indicates that Backyard Suites are considered Secondary Suites, but this is not the case. Secondary Suites must meet the following (and other) conditions:

• contain two or more rooms used or designed to be used as a residence by one or more persons,
• contain a kitchen, living, sleeping and sanitary facilities,
• is self-contained and located within a Dwelling Unit, and
• is secondary to the main residential use on the parcel.

Therefore, Secondary Suites are only those suites that are within a Dwelling Unit, or house, on a property. Backyard Suites, such as those above a garage, are considered discretionary and will still require a Development Permit. That said, the fee for this permit is also waived.

Properties that are eligible for permitted Secondary Suites are those that are zoned R-1s, R-C1s, R-C1Ls, R-2, or R-C2 and meet the respective minimum parcel width, depth and area requirements. For example, R-1s properties must be 15m wide, 30m deep, and have a minimum area of 330m2, whereas R-C2 properties must be 9m wide, but have no depth or area restrictions.

If your property needs to be redesignated to one of these districts to allow for a Secondary Suite (such as from R-C1 to R-C1s), the City is also waiving the fee for that application as well!

You can read more on the City's blog.

Inertia Office Complete

For those of you who were following our office renovation on this blog, you might have wondered how it all ended. Happily, everything turned out really well. We now have almost twice as much space, larger desks, a decent kitchen, and a much brighter workspace.

For the curious, the lights in our workspace and boardroom are Elan Fornello LED Pendants in sand textured white. 

We would like to thank Alan Miller from Verbatim for contracting the work and taking care of all the big and little details. Also, thanks to Keith Dumonceaux for the kitchen (and the awesome chunky handles). As well, thanks to Steve Spinks for being accommodating as we made a mess of both our space and his.

Thanks to Gary Campbell for the photography.

Post-Bowling Glow

This past Friday, the staff at Inertia could barely contain their joy that they didn't have to bowl any more. Well, except Trent who thought if he could just play one more game he would come out on top. Yes, that is the shirt that Stephen bowled in. He doesn't have any bowling wear and found it hard not to come home with the cool shoes they gave him.

Demolition Day

For those of you who are interested in the construction process, this blog will have regular entries illustrating the building of a single family house that Inertia designed for Gary Campbell and Heidi Wagner. Currently, we have a Development Permit submitted and are awaiting the first review (DTR) from the City. To bring you up to speed, this post include photos (and a video) from demolition day on June 25, 2015.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Dwell on Design Los Angeles 2015

Inertia had the opportunity to go on the South Bay home tour at the recent Dwell on Design conference in Los Angeles. Only personal photography is permitted inside the private homes, so here are some shots that anyone could take from the street with their iPhone. Unlike last year's tour, we were impressed with the quality of design and finishing. To find out more about this tour and the selected houses, visit the Dwell on Design website.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

The Globe Visits Our Wildwood House

This past weekend, the Globe and Mail published an article about the design process behind our Wildwood House. Colleen Seto met with Inertia's Stephen Barnecut as well as the homeowners to delve into the factors that shaped this signature house.

We love this quote from the article:

“It was always amazing to me how vocal people were about the house,” Mr. Dugdale says. “Some people hated it, while others loved it. But that’s okay; when you don’t get a reaction at all, it’s usually because you haven’t really done anything.”

Thanks to Colleen Seto for the article and to Gary Campbell for the photography.

Swift Creek Prairie House

The architectural controls for Swift Creek estates permitted four architectural styles, one of which was the Prairie form. Within this guideline, Inertia was able to design a house that was both true to the historic style and responsive to the needs of the homeowner.

The entry is central to the front facade and opens onto the stairwell and the main living space. To the left is the kitchen and dining area, and to the right, facing spectacular views of the Rocky Mountains, is the owners' suite. The second floor features a gallery, a common area and children's bedrooms.

The house has varying eave depths to allow and disallow light and heat into the house and is entirely insulated with blown-in cellulose insulation.

This design leans heavily on Frank Lloyd Wright's Ward Winfield Willits House in Highland Park, Illinois. For more information about this house, check out this Wikipedia article.

Residential ePermit Customer Experience

Rollin Stanley, the General Manager Planning, Development And Assessment at the City Of Calgary, reposted our blog post on his blog post yesterday (with our permission, of course). Rollin's team even came in and interviewed our own Trent Letwiniuk about Inertia's experience with residential ePermits and captured the discussion on video.

(Yes, that's a Lego Empire State Building in the left side of the frame. Trent picked that up on his last trip to New York City.)

Office Construction Update

We're getting closer! With the walls almost all painted and the ceiling dropped in today, our new space is starting to look like an office should. The kitchen cabinets go in tomorrow, carpet will be laid by the end of the week and the network will get fired up on Monday.

Time to go furniture shopping!

14a Street Single

We've uploaded photos of the 14a Street Single to Houzz!

This Bankview house is unusual because in Calgary it's rare to find a dwelling larger than 4000 square feet in such an urban location. This three story modern house was designed for a 37 1/2 foot wide lot between an original 1908 bungalow and an apartment building.

The design of the building is a result of the interplay between a solid mass on the main floor and a large white bracket that hovers two floors above it.

Sitting near the top of the 14th Street hill, the third floor master suite has excellent views from both front and rear rooftop balconies. The main floor is dedicated to the main living space, and the second floor is split between bedrooms in the back and an entertainment/office space in the front. The basement has a recreation area and a guest room. The front drive access was required due to the lack of a lane in this block.

Take a look at the photos here.

Secondary Suites in Four Inner-city Wards

Calgary's City Council has asked City administration to prepare a Land Use Bylaw amendment that will allow homeowners and developers to apply for secondary suites in R-1, R-C1, and R-C1L in Calgary's four inner city wards without having to apply for a land use redesignation. This is an exciting possibility, though it still needs to be passed by a Council that has been reluctant to simplify this process.

You can find out more at the Calgary City News Blog post here:  Proposed Bylaw changes may allow secondary suites in four inner-city wards

Fostering Inner City Development

Within the past month, Richard White has published three blog entries on how Calgary’s City Council could foster development in established communities. 

Permitted Multifamily

http://everydaytourist.ca/blog/2015/1/20/enhancing-established-community-development-multifamily

In the first entry, White proposes making multifamily development in the inner city a permitted use rather than a discretionary use. This means that if a proposed development meets all the Land Use Bylaw rules, then it's allowed as proposed. We're not against this idea, but relaxations can be an important part of making a project better or even possible. In fact, most multifamily applications have at least one relaxation. If a single relaxation exposes a developer to potential appeal, then this idea wouldn't really improve things at all.

SDAB Reform

http://everydaytourist.ca/blog/2015/1/20/enhancing-established-community-development-sdab-reform

In White's second entry, he discusses the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board. This board is famous for being arbitrary and allowing specious arguments. In our own experience, the decisions that the Board makes are at best unpredictable. We can't expect that there will be any more weight placed on the larger needs of the City than on the irrelevant claims of an unaffected neighbour. This introduces a signifiant risk to developers considering an inner city project, and certainly makes suburban development look more attractive. Unfortunately, as Richard writes, the recent review has only resulted in minor changes that haven't had an affect on outcomes.

Remove Redundant Policy

http://everydaytourist.ca/blog/2015/1/20/enhancing-established-community-development-remove-bureaucracy

In his last entry on the subject, White suggests removing Area Redevelopment Plans from public policy. These plans were drafted to curb inner city development, and because of this, are out of sync with the City's progressive Municipal Development Plan. Case in point, the North Hill ARP begins with a nostalgic vision statement that includes: "There is a village atmosphere with young and old mingling in a way reminiscent of earlier, gentler times." The person who wrote that isn't going to stand for any change to his or her neighbourhood, especially if it might increase traffic (which is a code word for diversity). We project that the ARPs will stay on the books but will slowly fade out of relevance.

Thanks to Richard White for these three great entries and his excellent blog, The Everyday Tourist.

Inertia Turns Nine Today

Today is Inertia's ninth anniversary.

At the beginning of 2006, Trent Letwiniuk, Stephen Barnecut and Paul Shannon were all working at Jager/AlanRidge homes, and Calgary was booming. Builders couldn't build the homes as fast as they could sell them, and that was especially the case with AlanRidge. Things were going a bit sideways are work, and we were each being approached by colleagues desperate for help with their residential design.

So the three of us agreed to meet at Denny's before work on Monday, January 30th. It didn't take long before we had agreed to start our own firm. But before breakfast was done, Stephen expressed his concern that if we didn't get moving right away, then inertia would be against us, and we needed to have inertia on our side.

Before the day was out, we had gone to the registry and registered Inertia.

It's About to Get Loud!

Inertia has grown! There are now seven people on the Inertia team, but our current office only has space for about five. Luckily our neighbour has just moved out allowing us to expand into the adjacent space.

Demolition is complete and the framers are at work today putting up the partitions for our new kitchen. We're excited about having bigger desks, a layout table, an alternative meeting area, and a kitchen sink!

Our mailing address and front door will remain the same: 1140B 44th Avenue SE.

R-CG Pre-App Meeting

This morning we had our first pre-application meeting for a potential R-CG parcel. We were very impressed by how open the planners at the City are about this redesignation. As well, the community was excited about it as well.

Because R-CG is not considered a multi-residential district in Calgary's Land Use Bylaw, there are fewer hurdles to jump in order to get an R-C2 parcel redesignated as R-CG. If there is an existing policy, such as an Area Redevelopment Plan, that indicates that a parcel should remain a Low Density use, the R-CG district still conforms. As well, because of its conventional format where entrances are on the street and are not internal to the parcel, neighbours and community associations are less concerned about R-CG developments causing conflicts with adjacent low density development.

Based on the positive feedback from the community association, neighbours and today's pre-application meeting, we're going to move forward with the land use redesignation. We'll keep our followers informed as this development progresses!