One of MTA’s most memorable projects was The Watt Residence, a 5,000-square-foot retreat in Canmore, Alberta, that blends mountain rustic aesthetics with a contemporary flair.

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About 10 years ago, Tom Tittemore and Bill Marshall combined their talents in the architecture and interior design fields and formed Marshall Tittemore Architects, based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Marshall ran his own architectural firm before partnering with Tittemore. “Bill and I were colleagues and friends since we were graduate architects in Calgary,” Tittemore says. “We decided to get together and form a partnership.  

“Bill was facing limitations being a sole practitioner,” he continues. “Two heads are better than one.”

The partnership worked out well because Marshall had experience in the private sector and Tittemore had experience in the public sector. “Our specialties overlapped, so we felt a tremendous synchronization and energy because we weren’t trying to do the same thing,” Tittemore explains. “That is a big reason behind our success and growth.”

The company provides services such as architecture, interior design, hospitality/resort planning, urban planning, master planning, feasibility studies, education capital planning, development consulting, healthcare interiors and historical building restoration/renovation analysis in British Columbia and Ontario.

Recently, the company opened a new office in Edmonton with 10 employees, in addition to the 50 employees in its Calgary office. The firm is performing more projects in the Rocky Mountain area, and it mainly works in the multifamily, education, municipal and resort markets.

Canmore Civic Center
In 2004, the company designed the two-story, $4.2 million (Canadian) Canmore Civic Centre, the first LEED Silver certified facility in Alberta, Tittemore says. The city of Canmore is located in the mountains and the city’s culture is very respectful of natural engineering processes, he says.

To meet LEED certification, the 25,000-square-foot building was designed with recyclable and renewable materials, and incorporated massing and orientation, energy modeling, passive solar heating, natural dry lighting, and energy efficient mechanical and electrical systems.

Also, the center of the building had large sliding doors, as well as windows. “That will enable [users] to leave the doors [and windows] open and let fresh air into the building,” Tittemore says. “That will reduce the air conditioning load on buildings.”

The facility was designed as a joint-use facility for the Canmore Museum and Geo-Science Center, and includes conference rooms, classrooms and office/staff facilities. It also holds town/municipal offices and exhibitions in the “Interior Street” – located in the middle of the facility – exterior public plaza and public lobby. “Innovative and creative display design solutions for permanent exhibitions and displays are integrated with the architectural design,” the company says.

The project has received several awards, such as:
•    Annual Sustainable Communities Award, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, 2005
•    Top Project of 2004, Alberta Construction Magazine
•    Consulting Engineers of Alberta Showcase Award, 2005

Market Changes
Clients in all markets demand sustainable projects. “In some respects, we don’t have a choice,” Tittemore acknowledges. “The Alberta government is mandating that new buildings achieve a minimum of LEED Silver certification.

“Also, there is a green building initiative that is focused on the residential sector [in Canmore],” he adds. “So, virtually all of the mountain work has sustainable design requirements.”

The demand for healthcare projects has also increased, he says. “All major healthcare sites in Alberta have new capital programs underway,” he says. “On the institutional side, we’re seeing more interior work, and a lot of buildings need interior upgrades.”

“Much of the renovation work we do is either an expansion or modification to the existing space to better suit [clients] functional needs,” Interior Designer Jaime Gallant adds.

However, there is a strong demand for new buildings in the residential market, Tittemore says, mainly for single-family and multi-family homes. Also, clients prefer more contemporary design, he says. “Clients are growing more sophisticated and the bar is being raised [in terms of design],” he says. “We are having to improve our skills to collaborate with these trends.”