In.between / Interactive Tour & Workshop

​Calgary’s downtown is a landscape. As designers, we are tasked with creating solutions for public space that are affected by challenging urban interfaces, different patterns of use and ownership and changing conditions. We are required to think about how the urban experience migrates from inside to outside and the in-between.

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​We are inviting people to join us on an interactive, experiential walking tour through Calgary’s downtown to reflect on what they see, hear and feel in the urban environment. Along the way, we’ll stop at five different locations to consider some of the urban interfaces and challenges that planners and designers regularly deal with.

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​People and their behaviours are shaped by the space and conditions around them, emotionally and psychologically. We will analyze the environments we come across and discuss approaches that could improve the conditions of our shared environments, including opportunities for activation, permanent and temporary responses.

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​The Program‍
Join us for a two-hour interactive tour and workshop through the downtown. This walking session will serve as both an exploration and a collaborative investigation into the visible and invisible forces shaping these nodes. Together, we’ll explore not only what’s present, but also uncover opportunities that have been left untapped.

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​The session will include short participant questionnaires and open brainstorming discussions. Attendees will be invited to contribute their insights across disciplines, drawing from architecture, urban design, public health, planning, and social work. We will be accompanied by experts’ advisors from CMLC and the City of Calgary who will be providing context around the policies and changes shaping the area.

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​We’ll identify gaps, broken links, and opportunities for connection — physical, social, and spatial.

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​This workshop is an invitation to open a dialogue about ownership, access, neglect, and possibility. We’ll explore the idea of activation —how spaces are used, under what conditions, and for whom. The conversation won’t focus on polished or celebrated places, but on those that have been overlooked: the underused and undefined zones left in the middle. These in-between spaces — neither fully public nor fully abandoned — carry stories worth hearing. Together, we’ll question what it means to design with intention, and how we might rethink the spaces that fall through the cracks. We invite you to step with us into the in-between.

Speakers
Will Craig
Monica Brito
Silviia Al-Masani

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