ARCHITECTURALLY SPEAKING Park Point is going to put an exclamation point in the Beltline

The purpose of this Designer Series features was to put a spotlight on the interior decoration of the elaborate condominium and townhome show suites in the city, and the past nine issues saw some of the most visually stunning and innovative use of design to establish a lifestyle vision. This issue goes in a little different direction, as we talk to Park Point’s architect, Tony Wai of IBI Group, to look at how he provided the canvas on which the interior designer, Scott Trepp of Trepp Design Inc., worked his magic.

The relationship between the architect and the interior designer is key in determining the look and lifestyle of the condo and at Park Point it has worked to perfection. The 34-storey, 289-suite tower from Qualex-Landmark™ — the first of Park Point’s two towers — is nearly complete and about to be topped off, even as it exceeds the 70 per cent sold threshold. Wai says what makes the high-rise different from others in the Beltline is that instead of a “wedding cake” that sees the building tapering off five to ten floors from the top, Park Point is the opposite. “We created Park Point to be top heavy instead, the biggest floor plate is at the top floor,” Wai says. “With its black and white façade, from afar, it is going to look like an exclamation point with the podium at its base as the dot.” Quite fitting as Park Point marks a new architectural masterpiece in Calgary.

Its amazing location at the corner of 2nd Street and 12 Avenue S.W. is a hotspot for exciting urban living, just across from the serene and historic Central Memorial Park and Memorial Park Library, yet walking distance to a bevy of pubs, restaurants and other entertainment and shopping opportunities. It’s a location that Wai used to their advantage, too. The fourth floor exercise room has full-length, wall-to-ceiling windows that allows for panoramic views of the park. “It is also lit 24-hours to benefit pedestrians on the streets below. It is another way the building interacts with the community,” Wai says. Park Point’s first tower on the southwest corner is also positioned perfectly so it will retain its views when the second tower goes up. “They’re staggered so they don’t block each other,” Wai says. Someday, there will be a double exclamation point in the Beltline — literally and figuratively.

BY PEPPER RODRIGUEZ

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