When considering the reality of building a new home for Clients who are avid travellers, collectors, and family-oriented, as well as a place within the context of Calgary and the recently flooded Elbow River Valley; the concept of ‘anchor’ implies a place which is heavy. Its place in the city, in terms of both architectural intent and material durability will be forever defined. Formed of concrete and glass, its reductive form emerges from the site as though it could have been found there as a quasi-industrial ruin of a former life. Its implied presence is one that spans long into the future and through any circumstance that it is asked to endure. As Calgary is a relatively new city in the global context, the idea of ‘historical’ architecture is somewhat questionable. However, given the robust nature of a home designed as an ‘anchor’, we have the unique circumstance of informing a future history for Calgary’s architecture.
Where the fast and sloppy construction of Calgary’s typical homes will erode into a past, The Anchor House will continue to stand strong, serving as a visual and physical turning point in the city's history to a (hopefully) more responsible, robust, and respectable architectural future.
