Forest Lawn Creek Design Charrette Feasibility Analysis,
Land Use + Outline Plan

Client The City of Calgary, Office of Land Servicing and Housing
Location Calgary | Alberta | Canada

Southeast Calgary is a strategically important area for the ongoing economic development of the city. With the planned completion of the SE Transportation and Utility Corridor (TUC), regional access to industrial lands in the southeast will be improved. This has increased the area’s attractiveness for industrial business development emphasizing convenient access to the regional highway system. In response to this, the City of Calgary Office of Land Servicing and Housing (OLSH) is developing an area consisting of over 900 acres of undeveloped land between Peigan Trail and Glenmore Trail into an industrial park that is at the forefront of ecological design. Forest Lawn Creek meanders through the lands, providing a major opportunity to include a significant environmental corridor within the development while at the same time presenting challenges to the economic viability of the project. A balanced approach to development of the property was needed that addressed ecological and stormwater management requirements while at the same time providing a plan that is on a sound business footing. O2 was retained by the City to lead a new, creative, and rigorous process to develop a master plan for the site.

O2’s goal was to create the most ecologically responsible industrial park in Canada while reconciling the competing interests of stakeholders. To do this, the firm worked with stakeholders to identify what was most important to them -their metrics of success - and used those to measure the performance of alternative master plan concepts developed during the planning process. O2 organized a multi-day design charette, during which alternatives were created, analyzed, and compared in order to identify the best possible solution that maximizes positive outcomes for all interested parties. This process was facilitated by O2’s development of integrated 2D and 3D modelling environments that combine technical analysis into a single workflow. 

O2’s responsibilities included master planning, urban design, landscape architecture, complete streets planning, biophysical fieldwork and assessment, and stakeholder engagement.