Shugarman Architecture + Design

The Canmore Residence project underwent a complete interior renovation, including a new third floor addition to showcase the breathtaking mountain landscape.

SA+D designed the home with a Malibu feel in mind. The result is a modern home with a light, airy, fresh feel saturated with natural light and an almost seamless connection between the inside and the outside living spaces.

Here’s a beautiful skylight, shining down on our project-⁠
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Especially with all of the extra hours of sunlight this time of year, it’s wonderful to get more of that natural light beaming through the windows.⁠
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We love a sky light, how about you?⁠
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Architect: .architecture ⁠
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— The Riverside Retreat —

This home is designed to take in the sprawling views of the North Saskatchewan River and downtown Edmonton skyline, while prioritizing privacy for the owners. Minimalist + modern in design, the riverside retreat generously infuses the 14 foot ceilings with natural light from the expansive floor to ceiling and clerestorey windows throughout both levels of the home.

The main floor is equipped to entertain, showcasing a sculptural feature staircase as you enter the home, complemented with a 17 foot kitchen island adorned with skylights, that seamlessly extends into the heated outdoor patio.

Not only is this project striking, it too prioritizes sustainability. The home features a low-rise solar panel roof that isn’t visible from the street, triple glazed fiberglass windows to reduce thermal loss, and multiple EV charging stations within the garage to yield an electrical net zero home.

Architecture + Interior Design: Shugarman Architecture + Design
Builder: Rescom Homes

Photographers:
Sharon Litchfield Photography
Michael Ferster

We all love beautifully crafted renderings but let’s face it, they can use up a lot of resources. For that reason, during the design process a lot of our visualization work is done simply through images directly through our modelling software. This allows us to work through multiple design options with our clients very quickly and accurately. Swipe for a comparison between our simple 3D visualization and stair during construction.

Build by

Our 2015 renovation to the Heritage Inn in Saskatoon proves the value of what a relatively small but carefully considered intervention can have.

Happy Monday everyone! Let’s start off the week with one of our favourite past projects. The interior spaces of the Prospect House offer a carefully detailed palette of stone, wood, concrete, glass and metal to convey a sophisticated yet relaxed luxury and continuity throughout the residence. Spatial differentiation is achieved by subtle changes in either floor or roof height rather than by abrupt use of walls as enclosure.

Photography by dsTroyer
Build by

For todays let’s look at a very exciting project we designed for a client in Calgary. The client came to us with a sloped site in Montgomery Calgary that provided opportunities to create a fantastic elevated walkway to the front door that carried on to create a wrap around rear deck. Unfortunately, as some projects do, this home was never realized but we love looking back at what that site could become.

Renderings done in-house

Did you know that Shugarman Architecture also provides master planning and large scale visualization services?

We are thrilled to be working with the to help showcase conceptual visualizations of what their downtown could look like under their draft Downtown Plan. For more information visit www.airdrie.ca/downtown

Renderings done in house

Regardless of scope, scale or program, one of our first responsibilities as architects and designers is to create architecture that responds to the site’s views, light and natural conditions. 

The Riverside residence in Edmonton responds to it’s site by allowing uninterrupted light through the single loaded living area and celebrates river valley views with double height glazing.

Photos by dstroyer
Build by

More images from our River’s Edge residence for this In a past post we looked at the living room which exemplifies transparency by inviting views in and out to the river valley and rear yard. The opposing side of the front elevation reflects the more private program of the office.  A solid stone box with long narrow windows offers framed views of the trees outside, while protecting privacy for the working environment within.

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Photography by: dstroyer

(Canada) LLP Edmonton offices are located in the new tower in the . The design intent was to create a space that enveloped the firm’s dynamic group of individuals in this forward looking and progressive company with a tailored and refined look. Inspired by the prairies, hockey and our vast skies, we wanted to celebrate our Western Canadian landscape and culture and ensure the office space maintained an identity that personified Edmonton.

Clean lines, warm wood tones, refined finishes and considered details have all come together to provide a welcoming contemporary office environment for clients and staff.

Photography by dstroyer
Build by

Another to the River’s Edge residence in Edmonton, completed 2016. Two of the major objectives that drove the planning and design of the home was to connect inside and outside as much as possible and to create an enduring aesthetic of solidity and modernity. How many would agree this living room fulfills both of those objectives?

Stay tuned for more images of the interior and exterior from this home!

Build by:
Photography by: dstroyer

Looking back at one of our favourite renovations. The Scarborough House was a careful redesign of window patterns, new front and rear decks, expanded and renovated top-floor master suite and a new contemporary canopy. These elements drove renovations of this home from a tired 1980s traditional home into a contemporary multi-layered new residence. Swipe for the before image!

Build by
Photography by dstroyer

Another team introduction! Jeanne has been an interior designer at Shugarman for over 7 years. She is passionate about a multidisciplinary approach to design, exploring the intersections of architecture, planning, interior design, and product design. Her ability to take a client’s needs and translate them from an inspired concept through to a final design is exceptional. Jeanne has been the project lead and designer for a number of multi-family residential projects; leading teams to produce final construction drawings, contract administration, and coordinating with various consultants to ensure the original design is maintained.

Our interior design of the suites at the aimed for a modern but timeless aesthetic regardless of which material palette the client chose to suit their lifestyle. The moderne palette shown in these renderings offers a laid back but elegant space for the client to call home.

Renderings done in-house .architecture

Art always plays an integral role in interior design. Likely very few people are aware that Michael Shugarman himself painted the large-scale mural used in the lobby of the . Let’s talk about where Michael drew inspiration from this piece.

Firstly, the works of one of his favourite painters Marion Nicoll. Marion was a prairie modernist and an artistic pioneer. A true feminist, treading new artistic ground in Calgary in the 50s and 60s when other women (and men) were still painting pretty landscapes. In addition, she studied and was heavily influenced by attending the Saskatchewan Emma Lake Artist Workshops in the 60s. These workshops cannot be overstated in terms of their import to Canadian art development.

The second inspirational draw was the landscape of the prairie, and specifically the inspiration of our prairie rivers. They are not the grand rivers of the world, but they have their own allure, especially in the early spring and late fall, when the beauty of the white ice against deep grey and blue, with a tinge of pink prairie light at dusk and dawn.

Projects like this are seldom done in isolation and Michael thanks for the help and guidance in making this work happen. She herself is a very talented artist. She determined how it could work technically and also manipulated the initial sketches digitally which was key to the final composition. None of that could have been done without her leadership, skill and talent.

Swipe for more photos of the completed work , examples of Nicoll’s stunning work, images of prairie rivers Michael used for inspiration, early sketches from Michael and lastly an image of the work in progress.

Lobby photos by: .gomberg

Meet the team! Michael Shugarman is the principal architect of Shugarman Architecture + Design. Michael has practised in Canada for over two decades and is a registered architect in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. For the last 25 years he has nurtured his firm into a multidisciplinary team with a distinctive, design-led approach that balances artistic rigour with human comfort.

Our Britannia residence has been nominated for the 2021 Building of the Year! Follow the link below for more images of the project and place your vote!

https://boty.archdaily.com/us/2021/candidates/134793?utm_source=boty-emails&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=offices-mailing

The Britannia Residence sits atop the east bank of the Elbow River in south-east Calgary Alberta. Architecturally, the residence challenges traditional planning typologies of private and open spaces within a single family dwelling. The notion of a front ‘porch’ was re-interpreted in a contemporary setting to take full advantage of western light and views while providing the single loaded open areas access to exterior living and dining spaces in both front and rear yards. Private areas were then placed on an opposing axis to allow for uninterrupted natural sunlight and provide privileged access to the rear yard.

Looking for an insight into what drives the design process of an interior project? Our concept for The Legends lobby was inspired by three elements: Ice, oil, and the Edmonton Oilers. The art of ice carving and the natural, repetitive formations found in shards of ice created the basis of the concept. This aesthetic was infused throughout the architecture itself in the curved walls, built-in benches and display cases. The beautiful carved Italian marble behind the reception desk replicates shards of ice while the light fixtures imitate drops of oil. Lastly, the aesthetic is completed with an orange and blue palette inspired by the Edmonton Oilers.

Renders done in-house .architecture

Looking for an insight into what drives the design process of an interior project? Our concept for The Legends lobby was inspired by three elements: Ice, oil, and the Edmonton Oilers. The notion of ice carving and the natural, repetitive formations found in shards of ice created the basis of the concept. This aesthetic was infused throughout the architecture itself in the curved walls, built-in benches and display cases. The beautiful carved Italian marble behind the reception desk replicates shards of ice while the light fixtures imitate drops of oil. Lastly, the aesthetic is completed with an orange and blue palette inspired by the Edmonton Oilers.

Renders done in-house .architecture

From our archives, the Prospect House in Calgary combines permanence and modernity with careful integration of the landscape. Completed 2014.

Photography by: dsTroyer
Build by:

The lobby of the in Edmonton was awarded Outstanding Millwork by and was one of our favourite interior design projects. Compare our original rendering with a photo taken just before opening day, can you spot the differences?

Rendering done in-house .architecture
Lighting by
Stone by
Build by
Millwork by Steven and Associates Millwork LTD

Visualizations from one of our recent projects, a new modern professional building to be built in Edmonton.

Rendering done in-house .architecture