Riddell web

photo by riverwood photography.

Riddell Kurczaba Architecture Engineering Interior Design Ltd. Riddell Kurczaba • 30 years

Turns 30

91

John Riddell and Ron Kurczaba, Founders

C

algary became an internationally-known city in 1988, thanks to hosting the hugely successful Winter Olympic Games that also left this city with a legacy of buildings and sports associations.

It also marked the birth year of Riddell Kurczaba Architecture Engineering Interior Design Ltd. (RK). Over the past 30 years, the firm has been able to boast of great success and continues to be a respected force in the community.

30

YEARS

Riddell Kurczaba • 30 years • 2

Architect John Riddell left Winnipeg to move to Calgary and begin his career when, unfortunately, the city was

hit by the major 1983 recession. Undeterred, he strove on designing small- to medium-size projects and was fortunate to be introduced to engineer Ron Kurczaba through a casual conversation with a business colleague of Ron’s who just happened to be sitting next to John on a flight back from Toronto.

They arranged to meet. Ron, who was working with Lavalin, was engaged in employing architects from time to time on a wide range of building projects, and was able to find a little architectural work for John on an electrical substation for the northwest leg of the LRT.

Extending our most sincere congratulations and well wishes to our friends at Riddell Kurczaba on their 30th Anniversary!

Structural Engineering Parking Planning Building Science Structural Restoration Structural Glass Engineering

rjc.ca

Leadership Team and Associates - Calgary Office This also marked the beginning of a growing friendship.

The first major project they worked on together was converting the former Banff Mineral Springs Hospital to a student hostel; they enjoyed the relationship and explored the possibility of continuing to work together, eventually establishing the business partnership they salute with this year’s 30th anniversary.

It was not an easy time to launch as Calgary was in the doldrums and few major construction projects were on the drawing boards, but RK was able to win the renovation and expansion of the former Calgary Real Estate Board building along 5th Avenue SW. John says he was a little chagrined at having to change the original award-winning J. H. Cook design, but happy to see it is still working as a small commercial building in downtown Calgary.

CONGRATULATIONS TO RIDDELL KURCZABA ON CELEBRATING DESIGN FOR 30 YEARS!

CLARKBUILDERS.COM

Riddell Kurczaba • 30 years • 3

WE LOOK FORWARD TO BUILDING MANY MORE EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCES TOGETHER.

building needs, and helping contribute to an ever-changing streetscape. It is satisfying to know that our work has helped shape communities.”

The firm achieved early success with sophisticated facilities geared towards advanced electronics manufacturing.

The Novatel CIMplex plant was followed by projects for Nortel, Hughes Aerospace, and Amptech among others.

The crowning achievement was the Computing Devices Plant, a project that Calgary was in competition with other Canadian cities to attract.

Pembina Pipeline Corporation - Grande Prairie Service Centre From the outset of the newly-established firm, the partners created a culture whereby the relationship they were enjoying blossomed by surrounding themselves with good people, and the right people.

Riddell Kurczaba • 30 years • 4

CEO Ron Kurczaba says, “It is extremely gratifying to have built a successful business that has endured for 30 years; providing meaningful employment, supporting many families, helping innumerable customers with their

Beyond technology, the firm took great pride in delivering several important cultural projects for its First Nations neighbours such as the Tsuu T’ina Administration Complex, the Siksika Protective Services Building and the Calgary Native Women’s Shelter.

In 1998, RK received a world-class perspective on the industry when it teamed up with major design firms to undertake the interior fit-out for TransCanada’s newly-merged business with Nova Gas. One of the earliest and most important business lessons Ron received was that “no one comes looking for you.” As a result, RK set up a dedicated marketing and communications’ team focused on promoting the unique attributes and capabilities of the company.

Remington Development Corporation - South Campus, Quarry Park This team, capably led by senior associate and vice president of marketing Niha Prasad-Kroliczek, has helped lift RK onto the national and international stage.

corporations in the world. Their functional design, creativity and innovation has played a large part in the growth of both our companies.”

Speaking on behalf of other staff, Niha says, “One of the strong assets we find about John and Ron is that they are very trustworthy. We have trust in them and they allow us to do the things that we believe would benefit the company.”

Ron recalls looking over the barren former gravel extraction site that has become Quarry Park, Remington’s outstanding live/work/play southeast community that evolved into one of North America’s foremost mixed-use developments.

They were able to establish the right relationships with their growing portfolio of clients. Remington Development Corporation is a major one that RK has been proud to work with since 1997.

RK won the process to design the Jacobs building. The park’s biggest building to that date, the 475,000 squarefoot, four-storey structure over a 22.5-acre site earned RK an International Best Office Architecture in Canada Award.

Chairman Randy Remington says, “For over 20 years, we have enjoyed working with RK to design millions of square feet of office and industrial buildings for some of the largest

Since then RK has designed the majority of office buildings in the park including the South Campus Calgary headquarters for Imperial Oil – five interconnected buildings totalling

Riddell Kurczaba • 30 years • 6

Congratulation’s Riddell Kurczaba for 30 years of design excellence!

ground cubed landscape architects

www.ground3.com 403.475.0719

Remington Development Corporation - Jacobs, Quarry Park 880,000 square feet, the most significant suburban office building in the city.

RK had already completed a similar major development for Fluor Canada. Ron and Niha had learned of the company’s holding of 50 acres of land on the east side of Macleod Trail and its plan to put it on the market.

They were able to convince Fluor to undertake a feasibility study on the potential of keeping the land, acting as their own developer and constructing their new building there.

The result was RK being able to design a magnificent

refresh...

225,000-square-foot office complex with a focal 10,000 square foot curtain wall atrium. RK also produced a master plan for the rest of the site that was developed as Sundance Place.

The oil and gas industry has been a key part of RK’s business since a concerted effort was made in 1992 to reach out to that EPC/EPCM firms that Ron worked with during his time in the industry. One of the first to respond was Bantrel – part of the Bechtel Group – and the success in completing many of their projects resulted in earning more work in providing services to many more companies in the industry.

01 02 03 04

Joe Phillips Building 220, 101 6ST SW Calgary AB, T2P 5K7 403-777-2729

Riddell Kurczaba • 30 years • 7

DESIGN PROCESS

Recently, RK completed projects for Pembina Pipeline in Grande Prairie (a two-storey, 40,000 square foot office building and design of a 30,000 square foot warehouse/shop) and in Drayton Valley (a two-storey, 30,000 square foot office building and design of a 30,000 square foot warehouse/shop), as well as seven buildings in Sturgeon County for North West Redwater Partnership (NWR).

NWR chairman and CEO Ian MacGregor says, “We were very pleased – RK delivered offices, fire hall/warehouse, and a reactor assembly building of the highest environmental standards, and came in right on budget.”

The success in continually winning oil and gas projects, many of them located in northern Alberta and across Western Canada, meant the firm was able to grow and diversify into other disciplines, giving architects and interior designers different challenges that they rose to with some tremendous results for a host of wonderful clients.

The Swarm - 2013 NAIOP Design Competition co-winner

Through persistence and tenacity – and the good balance between the different fortes of the two partners – the company has grown from strength to strength.

JLL Calgary Suburban & Beltline Team

Riddell Kurczaba • 30 years • 8

MCW congratulates Riddell Kurczaba Architecture Engineering Interior Design Ltd. on their 30th Anniversary With offices in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Halifax and Moncton, the MCW Group of Companies is everywhere you are.

MCW – creating the environments required to live, work, educate, play and heal www.mcw.com

403 456 2233 • jll.ca Rick C. Urbanczyk • David Lees • Adam Ramsay

Continued success and best wishes to all the Staff & Management Team at Riddell Kurczaba.

Municipal Engineering | Project Management | Infrastructure Design Storm Water Management | Erosion and Sediment Control p: 403.276.1001 |F: 403.276.1012 | jubileeengineering.com

Clients are great motivators and it was thanks to Remington Development’s expansion into the Edmonton market that RK opened an enterprising office in 2008 in the provincial capital to better serve their long-standing relationship.

A notable project is the South Central Business Park consisting of nine industrial buildings, each one in excess of 100,000 square feet – a significant project in the Edmonton market.

Calgary Board of Education - West Ridge School Adding experienced and talented staff and earning interesting projects in a variety of sectors has resulted in what today is a multidisciplinary company able to tackle any kind of demand. Its portfolio of completed projects includes some outstanding examples of the diversity they have received accolades for over the years.

In association with Gensler, RK delivered Enmax Place, which won three BOMA Awards. It is a comprehensive redevelopment of an existing building as well as a complete interior renovation to become the 320,000 square foot new corporate headquarters and operations centre for Enmax.

The firm’s interior design studio was formed in the late 1990s after contracting with other specialists that led to outcomes that John says were never entirely satisfactory. “We made a commitment to build our own interior design practice and the different dimension of communication has worked out very well,” he says. “The designers are able to meet with the architects at early stages and then talk to the people who will be working in the buildings, how it will work best for them, and how the design will enhance their productivity.”

Earlier this year, Scott Pennock joined RK as its new managing director of interior design. Armed with 23 years of experience in Canada, the U.S., Australia, Singapore and the U.K., Scott has specialized in corporate, commercial, hospitality and residential interior projects.

Currently directing a number of exciting projects, including Alberta Health Services in Strategic Group’s CN Tower in Edmonton, he joins a studio proud of a wide range of

Congratulations to Riddell Kurczaba!

We wish you many years of continued success.

Solving Alberta’s pipeline problems by making low CO2, high value diesel.

Riddell Kurczaba • 30 years • 9

www.nwrefining.com

interiors including restaurants, custom residential, a large number of offices, the Citizenship & Immigration Court, Hotel Alma at the University of Calgary, and huge projects like the Jacobs and Fluor interiors.

Another dimension of the firm’s offerings to industry was the launch of a specialty fire and building code solutions department to deal with code compliance and life safety, offering consulting services to help other companies through the maze of code challenges.

John Riddell has always had a passion for technology and was an early tester of 3D imaging. His interest in the advancement of interactive videos was primed when Fluor asked for a full-on animation so they could “walk” through their new building in the design stage.

The result was primitive by today’s standards, but effective in that it produced a deep buy-in by everybody in the Fluor organization, and it set RK on a technology journey that has seen the company as a leader in offering – through RK Visualization – the highest-quality computer-generated stills, animated marketing videos, and virtual reality (VR) that transports you into spaces as if you are actually there.

Good examples of the power of persuasion visualization can achieve are the west leg of Calgary’s LRT, the award-winning YYC LINK shuttle production; the first animated promotion for East Village using aerial drone footage; animated journeys around and through the New Central Library, capturing feeling of grandeur of the new public space; and depicting a quality and sense of place at University District. Currently the team is visualizing Arlington Street’s investment vision for the redevelopment of 17th Avenue.

RK’s visualizations are able to encourage stakeholders and communicate to chosen audiences how developments will actually be completed. Being involved in the marketing of developments has also led RK into offering branding and other promotional tools; it recently completed a full advertising/promotional package for Sixty West, a new residential community in Sylvan Lake.

The newest RK service offering stemming from its continual research and advocacy for higher accessibility standards, was the formation of RK – Access, a division led by architect Erin Shilliday in collaboration with Nabeel Ramji who experiences daily getting around in a powered wheelchair.

It provides accessibility audits, design enhancement, and project implementation to address all aspects of accessibility design and construction methods.

Blessed with good fortune, the firm has a culture of giving back.

Whether it is 10 years as platinum sponsor for the Remington Charity Golf Tournament in support of prostate cancer research, working with elementary students with their tin-can creations, or contributing studio design reviews and professional mentorship to architectural students, RK is always there.

1110 1 St SW Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2R 0V1 (t) 1.403.266.2100 | (f) 1.403.266.2170 www.riddell.ca At CES we believe in providing the right solution the first time, on time.

We offer services in planning and engineering for land development. Our service is based on design and construction with honesty, trust and commitment.

Providing Mechanical and Electrical Engineering services to the Canadian Building Industry.

We are licensed in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan and our work includes site grading, servicing, stormwater management, erosion and sediment control, traffic sound alternatives and road designs. We specialize in stormwater management and drainage studies.

Specializing in: Commerical • Industrial • Multi-Family • Institutional 204-110 12th Ave SW, Calgary AB T2R 0G7 T: 403-460-2277 • info@embeconsulting.ca www.embeconsulting.ca 204, 110-12 Avenue SW Calgary, AB T2R 0G7 T: (403) 460-2288 E: hbhaiji@civilengsolutions.ca

Riddell Kurczaba • 30 years • 10

Your Lifestyle, Your Community.

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Riddell Kurczaba!

We wish you many years of continued success.

#710 – 5920, Macleod Trail SW Calgary, AB. T2H 0K2 Phone: 403.640.0708 • Fax: 403.640.0785 info@tristarcommunities.com • www.tristarcommunities.com

riddell kurczaba

NAVAGRAH landscape architecture + urban design

WWW.NAVAGRAH.CA INFO@NAVAGRAH.CA | 403.708.8778

Briggs Kitchen & Bar in Calgary, AB

Delnor Construction Ltd.:

THE LEGACY LIVES ON

Alberta based and serving the province for 35 years

By Nerissa McNaughton

T

his year marks the 35th year of Delnor providing expert commercial construction services across Alberta. What started as a company launched by two high school friends is now a company executing more than $200 million over 300+ projects annually, while consistently ranking in Canada’s Top 40 Contractors.

“Ed Cyrankiewicz and I founded the company in 1983,” explains Ron Hinz, founder and member of the Board of Governors. The company where they were employed went into receivership and they faced a crossroad – take employment into their own hands or join the large group of the unemployed. It was an easy choice, considering that all other companies were offering nothing but low pay and excessive expectations!

The first 10 years was about grit, building a reputation and brand. “After that time, we were

considered to have a solid reputation. Next came having our feet on the pavement, looking for work and taking on the tough and highly specialized jobs that no one else would touch” explains Ron. While they built the brand, they also built the company. Phil Miller, Delnor’s first superintendent, was hired when the company was about a year old. That same year, Delnor secured their first big project, valued at nearly $1 million, at the Edmonton International Airport. This set the stage for larger and more complex projects.

“Some of the largest projects at this time came from clients that we still have relationships with today; for example, the University of Alberta Hospital’s rooftop heliport project,” Ron reflects.

The TELUS Workplace Integration project in 1997 marked a huge turning point as Delnor’s workforce

Delnor | 35 101