Awards

Environmental Design+Construction Excellence in Design Award Winner Multi-Family Residential Category 2007

The Vento Residences has earned North America's first LEED Platinum certification for a multi-family residential project!

The Vento is a mixed-use urban infill project located in the first phase of an ambitious redevelopment of a former inner-city hospital site. Ground floor retail shops front onto an existing street that serves as the commercial heart of the vibrant inner city neighbourhood. 20 two-storey townhouse suites are situated above the retail space. Each suite has a south-oriented private garden and is accessed from a second-storey outdoor terrace. A mews-like courtyard separates The Vento from the adjacent building to the south. Two additional affordable suites, owned and operated by the City of Calgary, are located at grade along the residential side streets that flank the project.

The Vento Residences represents Windmill Development Group's desire to bring environmental sustainability to the public consciousness. This project set out to establish the benchmark for mixed-use residential and commercial developments in Canada. The key sustainable design ideas included delivering a healthy indoor environment, finishing the project in durable materials and implementing energy and water efficient strategies.

The architectural response to this challenge incorporates many innovative and noteworthy building and design strategies. What makes this project truly unique, however, is the combination of such a broad variety of strategies in a small scale residential and commercial project.