Living Atlas of Quality

The Calgary research is intentionally interdisciplinary, intersectoral and collaborative in approach – with an overarching objective to positively address Quality of Life (QoL) in the city’s buildings, landscapes, spaces and places. To realize such ends, and with an eye to manageability of the research, the situated project considers design of the built environment in three ways: as a vehicle to foster inclusivity, to heighten sustainability and to improve public health.

The Calgary team has delineated our core principles as follows:

• Our research proposal acknowledges that the built environment has significant, demonstrable impacts on our quality of life, wellness and happiness
• Fostering equity, diversity and inclusion are critical aspects to be considered and pursued by policy makers, planning and design professionals, community groups and citizens alike
• Understanding the built environment, and addressing intensely complex problems, requires an interdisciplinary approach: through a holistic lens, this research investigates the diverse yet interconnected determinants of health & wellbeing, including across environmental, physiological, sociological, psychological, cultural and spiritual dimensions

Specifically, the site’s research tackles the following three inter-related questions. We are in the process of developing and shaping methodological aspects of our situated research. It will be important to deploy methods that allow us to rigorously interrogate identified ‘awarded’ cases, while concurrently engaging in open, inclusive and productive conversations, around quality, with our partners. We are very mindful of the need to ensure equitable + ethical space as the community conversations take shape and transpire. We are viewing these conversations as a key vehicle to explore, in an inter-sectoral manner, the three vital research questions.

• How can our understanding of design excellence be broadened, beyond a current focus on form and aesthetics, to also encompass inclusion, sustainability and health?
• How can we reconsider and redesign our spaces, places, buildings and neighborhoods to respond to our new broader and more equitable definitions and understanding of quality in the built environment?
• How do we contribute to strengthening and advancing inclusion in Calgary communities? And what role does design play, within this pursuit, to heighten inclusion, improve public health, and secure a more sustainable future?