Gibbs Gage adds new partners
Wade Gibbs and Doug Gage met in 1970 while studying architecture at the University of Manitoba. Following their graduations, the two friends took the bold step of moving to Calgary in 1983 to set up their own practice.
Today, their firm, Gibbs Gage Architects, is one of the largest in Western Canada, offering professional services in architecture, interior and urban design.
With a staff count of more than 100 and 20,000 projects completed, there was a need to spread around responsibilities while preparing a succession plan.
Rick Lewis, Vince Dods and Stephen Mahler were made partners at Gibbs Gage several years ago. The owners have now appointed two more, rewarding the hard work of Chito Pabustan and David Wittman.
Pabustan, a graduate of the University of Waterloo, has worked in architecture design in Calgary since 1991. Before joining Gibbs Gage in 2006, he was with Culham Pedersen Valentine Architects Engineers, prior to his 11 years as a partner at Sturgess Architecture.
As managing director-design, Pabustan has been involved in many of Gibbs Gage’s major projects, specializing in commercial office and institutional buildings. They include the Jamieson Tower, the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, and the rebuilt Elbow Park School.
Wittman, a design manager, has been with Gibbs Gage for the past 11 years. He met Doug Gage in Winnipeg — where his late father, Don, was a well-known sportscaster — after graduating with a Master’s of Architecture degree and was persuaded to relocate to Calgary.
Wittman has largely been responsible for the design of postsecondary, educational and recreational multiplexes, including the award-winning Elevation Place in Canmore, the Trico Centre for Family Wellness, and master planning at SAIT’s campus centre.
Gibbs Gage published a 200page retrospective of its work in 2011. Photographs of Calgary’s skyline revealed more than 35 well-recognized downtown projects it had by then completed, starting with its first major contract to design Olympic Plaza, which opened in 1987.
It could add many more pages to show off more recent designs, such as the Agrium Western Event Centre at Stampede Park, SAIT’s Trades & Technology Centre, the Genesis Centre of Community Wellness and the Schulich School of Engineering.
Current projects include the design for Riverlanding, a huge mixed-use shopping centre, residential and hotel complex that will cover an entire block of downtown Saskatoon.
In Calgary, work is well underway on the repurposing of the Stadium Shopping Centre to include five buildings housing residential condos, a grocery store, a hotel and medical offices.
Now that land use has been approved for the Eau Claire Market site, Gibbs Gage has applied for a development permit for Phase 1 of a project that will include a residential apartment tower, a hotel and condos, and a podium designed with a theatre, retail and restaurants.
Three more towers in a residential complex have been designed for Bentall Kennedy on 13th Avenue S.W., and the firm was selected to design the high school and recreational centre for the new community of Seton.
Residents in the south part of the city will be able to enjoy a new community library, 53-metre lap pool, Olympicsized pool, surf machine and dive tower.
The 330,000-square-foot complex, to be operated by the YMCA, will also include a gymnasium, two ice rinks, a 200-metre running track, and a 250-seat performance theatre.
NEWS AND NOTES
Representatives of Hull Services and Fluor Canada this week opened a solar greenhouse on the Hull campus. The structure will provide produce for the school’s culinary program. Designed and built entirely on volunteered time, a team of Fluor young engineers created the model in consultation with experts from Verge Permaculture, and employed the services of other vendors, including Burnco and Plastifab.
Gibbs Gage Architects is one of the largest in Western Canada.