Great by Design

About This Event

Great cities are defined at every scale—from major catalyst projects that transform skylines to the smaller, everyday details that bring places to life and shape how we experience them.

Join Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) for the eighteenth installment of our Placemakers speaker series featuring a panel of city-building, planning and placemaking experts. Together, they'll explore how thoughtful design and activation strategies can create more vibrant, connected and enjoyable cities, highlighting the role of public spaces, strategic connections, streetscapes and placemaking initiatives in shaping great urban environments.

We’ll look beyond the big moves to examine the details that bring a city to life—and consider how intentional design can create meaningful experiences at every scale.

Doors open at 4pm; formal program at 4:30pm

The evening will begin with short presentations from:

Kate Thompson, President + CEO, CMLC

Kate Thompson is the President & CEO of Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC). Kate oversees CMLC’s stewardship of the East Village and Culture + Entertainment District master plan visions, and a portfolio of Transit-Oriented Communities. Under Kate’s leadership, CMLC has delivered some of Calgary’s most significant city-building projects, including the award-winning Central Library and BMO Centre Expansion projects, and the Werklund Centre and Olympic Plaza Transformation projects, now underway.

Holding a Master’s in Architecture, Kate is a registered member of the Alberta Association of Architects (AAA) and a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (FRAIC). She has extensive experience in design and development, having worked for private firms in Calgary and Europe. Kate shares her vast knowledge of architecture by teaching at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Environmental Design as an Adjunct Professor.

Jérôme Glad, Partner, Belleville Placemaking

Based in Montreal, Jérôme Glad has 14 years of experience developing and managing public spaces and gathering places across Canada.

With a background in architecture and urban design and an entrepreneurial approach, Jérôme Glad is a placemaking leader in Quebec, having led flagship projects such as the Pied-du-Courant, a major outdoor venue by the St. Lawrence River, and the Jardins Gamelin, a thriving plaza in the center of Montreal.

Today he continues to manage places like Le Rendez-Vous, a vibrant community hub in NDG, Montreal, and helps many cities create their own successful places with Belleville Placemaking, a consulting firm that has contributed to projects like River Hall, the new Olympic Plaza or most recently ByWard Square in Ottawa.

Geoff Dyer, Partner, Urban Design Lead, B&A | CIMA+

Geoff is an accomplished hands-on urban designer with over 25 years of experience who crafted and now leads the CIMA+ (B&A Studios) Urban Design Studio in Calgary. Geoff earned his Masters degree in Urban Design from the University of Calgary in 2003 – starting his career spearheading the urban design guidelines for Calgary’s East Village – and has since then served as a lead urban designer for over 20 years, building an expertise that allows him to design at a range of scales and across disciplines.

Geoff is an expert in the design and implementation of walkable, mixed-use urbanism, having previously founded PlaceMakers Canada, served as a partner and lead urban designer for PlaceMakers llc that worked throughout North America, and served as the Director of Design and later CEO of the Downtown Development Authority in Lafayette, Louisiana.

A regular educator, lecturer, and writer on sustainable urbanism, urban design, and alternative land-use regulations, Geoff is a fellow and regular lecturer for the Urban Guild, the Congress for the New Urbanism include a two-time chair of the prestigious Charter Awards, and he currently serves as VP on the Council for Canadian Urbanism (CANU) board.

Following the presentations, the group will explore questions such as:

• What separates a city that is merely functional from one that feels genuinely great to live in?
• What kind of small design decisions dramatically change how we experience a place?
• How do the smaller urban design and placemaking investments support the larger catalyst investments?

Free event, pre-registration is required.

Attendance: In person
Registration Link

Video Recording will be available following the event.