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I went to last week's screening of Matthew Rankin's Universal Language at Metro Cinema, followed by a Q&A with the director. For context, Rankin is one of a number of directors hailing from Winnipeg—including Guy Maddin and Galen and Evan Johnson—who have set movies there that blend fact and fiction in absurd or surreal ways. (There's one more Metro Cinema screening tomorrow.)

Both during the Q&A and in this Edmonton Journal interview, Rankin talked a lot about the 'look' of Winnipeg and other prairie cities in a way that's relevant to the discussion about Edmonton's visual identity:
Q: You have a connection to and affection for this city; when we first met I remember after you screened your short film pointing out the burning Winnipeg-Edmonton NHL rivalry how delighted you were when I told you we were essentially unaware of it. But talk about what you absorbed in this ecosystem.

A: Everything I know about Edmonton comes from Trevor Anderson and his films. I was a filmmaker-in-residence at FAVA in 2014 and met all the great and wild people in Trevor Anderson’s Edmonton. I also spent the summer of 2021 in Edmonton playing a depressed single dad in Before I Change My Mind, Trevor’s first feature which was of course also co-written by Edmonton’s own Fish Griwkowsky. I have no children, but I nonetheless AM a depressed single dad and Trevor could see that from a thousand miles away. I wouldn’t have been able to act in my own film Universal Language had I not first acted for Trevor. I’m also told that Edmonton produces over 50,000 Hallmark films per year, which is almost as much as Winnipeg.

Q: Our cities also share architectural impulses …

A: One thing I love about walking around Edmonton is seeing all small, beige structures. These remind me so much of the small, beige structures I grew up with in Winnipeg. So many great ones in Edmonton. Never escalating beyond three stories, never putting on airs with a balcony or too many obstructing trees, really just full commitment to beige. Usually, they are apartment buildings or sometimes chartered accountancy firms. In the winter, these small, beige structures reflect the winter sun so beautifully and create warmth upon the cold white prairie. At the end of each day, the western-facing walls of beige literally glow with light, like glorious square sunsets. If you’re a fan of small, beige structures then our movie Universal Language is for you. I tried to film as many as I could.
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Speaking personally: while I agree that brick buildings are important to Edmonton's visual identity—certainly at the University of Alberta, where I work—my first impression of Edmonton was "wow, these people really love beige stucco."
 
An event at U of A that might be of interest to some (register here):
Retrofitting the Narrative Around Climate Resilience and Heritage
Date: Mar. 20, 2025
Time: 1 - 2:30 p.m.
Location: South Academic Building 1-36

Lecture Description: Join Vada Antonakis, Climate Resilience Planner, and Sydney Gross, Heritage Planner, from the City of Edmonton to explore the complexities of balancing built heritage preservation with climate resilience. This presentation will delve into the challenges and opportunities around making built heritage climate resilient, highlighting the climate risks that our heritage faces, challenges around heritage specific climate research, and balancing retrofits with preservation. Learn about Edmonton’s Climate and Heritage strategies, and how professionals are working together on exploring integrating these two seemingly disparate areas and bringing climate resilience and heritage management together.
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An episode of a TELUS Storyhive-funded documentary series called Take a Risk includes interviews of six notable Edmonton architects and discussions of notable heritage buildings, etc. In my opinion, the documentary isn't that well done, but the interviews are interesting. Some bits were a bit odd, as when Darrel Babuk says that there's no reason for us ever to build tall buildings.

 
constance_chlore said:
An episode of a TELUS Storyhive-funded documentary series called Take a Risk includes interviews of six notable Edmonton architects and discussions of notable heritage buildings, etc. In my opinion, the documentary isn't that well done, but the interviews are interesting. Some bits were a bit odd, as when Darrel Babuk says that there's no reason for us ever to build tall buildings.

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The future of high-density housing, as decided by Darrel Babuk:
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edmonton.taproot.news

On the agenda: Community revitalization levy, violence prevention, transit priority

This week, council committees will meet to debate whether to extend the community revitalization levies in downtown and the Quarters, hear about the city's new plan to prevent violence, and discuss more locations for transit priority measures.
edmonton.taproot.news edmonton.taproot.news

  • Council’s urban planning committee will review the Edmonton Design Committee’s new proposed principles of urban design at a meeting on March 4. The committee has been reworking its principles as well as its scope of review for the past year. The committee’s current principles, which number in the dozens, would be replaced by six themes: Authentic and meaningful; healthy and inclusive; attractive and human-scaled; connected and walkable; resilient and sustainable; and vibrant and thriving. The committee aims to finalize the changes by the end of April.
  • Administration has developed two grant programs meant to encourage new stores. The proposed programs are meant to replace the development incentive program, which closed in 2023. The first program would offer up to $30,000 for interior renovations to vacant ground floor commercial units, while the second would offer up to $400,000 per year to support the construction of new commercial and mixed-use developments. The proposed programs are set to be presented to council’s executive committee at a meeting on March 5. Executive committee may make a recommendation and send the decision to a future council meeting for a vote.
 
I went on the Queer History Walk downtown with Michael Phair yesterday. He mentioned that the Phillips Lofts used to be covered with ugly vinyl siding, which was only removed around the 90s (after it was threatened with demolition) to reveal the beautiful brick beneath. What other buildings are there in Edmonton that are secretly beautiful?
 
constance_chlore said:
I went on the Queer History Walk downtown with Michael Phair yesterday. He mentioned that the Phillips Lofts used to be covered with ugly vinyl siding, which was only removed around the 90s (after it was threatened with demolition) to reveal the beautiful brick beneath. What other buildings are there in Edmonton that are secretly beautiful?
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Old land titles building on 100 ave. Used to have some sort of white stucco exterior they tore off to reveal red brick underneath as well. Really glad they saved this one.

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northlands said:
Old land titles building on 100 ave. Used to have some sort of white stucco exterior they tore off to reveal red brick underneath as well. Really glad they saved this one.

View attachment 644102
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I'm a recent enough arrival that I've only known that one as a brick building. I saw a photo of the old look on the Wikipedia article and I was like, "are they sure they got the right building?"
 
I need to take time to walk around and shoot some pictures, but Downtown Kelowna and adjacent areas around my office definitely have a lot of mid-rise buildings that are great architecturally and that would, IMO, be a perfect fit for Edmonton's central areas. It seems like Kelowna borrows a lot of it's standards from Vancouver, with lots of townhome podiums, greenery, visually interesting designs and high quality finishes.
It honestly pains me to see these here, but not in Edmonton, considering the difference in size, scale and money of both cities.
 
Yes, you notice BC towns and cities are built differently than here. I feel part of it is climate and another part is the limited area which can be built on which leads to more density even in smaller communities.

BC is also very tourism oriented so more attention is paid in most places to having and keeping things looking nice.
 
David A said:
I feel part of it is climate and another part is the limited area which can be built on which leads to more density even in smaller communities.
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Makes some sense, in terms of climate, although the Okanagan isn't quite as far from Edmonton as, say, the Lower Mainland or Vancouver Island.

As for the density, it's not even really the case. Kelowna isn't super dense (it's actually said to be one of the most sprawled cities in BC). My point was much more about the quality of the built product, and how some of these things encourage a better urban experience in a city that isn't really that urban or dense.
 
EDC to discuss the following at May 20, 2025 meeting:

2025-26 Work Planning Discussion - Revising the EDC Boundary
Prepared May 9 2025

For discussion at the May 20 in-person EDC meeting.

Background

Reflecting engagement with internal and external partners, the following changes to the scope of EDC review were identified as part of the 2024-25 work plan:
  • Exploring revising the EDC boundary to align with nodes and corridors.
  • Exploring reviewing projects adjacent to major transportation corridors
  • Reviewing all large site rezonings regardless of their proximity to a transit centre.
  • Improving the project exemption process

Please see here for detailed information on potential changes to the scope of EDC review.
 
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