The Aster

A 33-dwelling multifamily residential development along historic Banff Avenue

Location 342 Banff Avenue, Banff AB
Size 33 Dwellings

Exploring a new scale for Rocky Mountain vernacular architecture in the 21st century

The architectural concept of the Aster celebrates Banff’s strong associations with its climate, green spaces, vernacular building traditions, and commitment to environmental stewardship. The Aster project is an homage to the beautiful natural landscapes and the people from around the world that they bring together to create a unique mountain culture.

As a world-renowned destination in the Rocky Mountains, the Town of Banff is steeped in history and is a vitally important part of the Canadian national identity. Banff’s unique location within a national park and embeddedness with its natural surroundings has established it as a high-demand tourist town, however has also led to challenges in housing supply for residents. With the surrounding protected landscapes as a geographic limitation for the town’s expansion and its historical context as a design limitation for the town’s densification, Banff faces unique challenges in providing affordable housing. The Aster is the winning proposal to Banff’s RFP call for a multi-family affordable housing development along the town’s main avenue that will provide attainable high-quality dwellings in a design that is sensitive to Banff’s historic and natural contexts.

“The two key concepts for addressing the Town of Banff’s design brief were vernacular and sustainability. Vernacular references the Aster’s sensitivity to the historic architectural and social context of Banff, while sustainability refers to the many ways the design creates a more symbiotic relationship with its natural environment.”

- Damon Hayes Couture
Designer, Studio North

Building on Studio North's research in Rocky Mountain vernacular architecture, we turned to iconic local design as precedent for large-scale residential projects that are both contextually sensitive and era-appropriate.

Imagine emerging from a forest and happening upon a mountain meadow. The welcome walkway celebrates the transition from the vibrant activity of Banff Avenue to the secluded communal mountain meadow within.

Flanked by bike storage and seating, the entry feature uses parametric design tools to sample natural imagery from Banff forests to produce coloured cladding tiles to emulate the dappled lighting and forest canopies experienced on the many iconic hikes around Banff.

After passing through the Welcome Walkway, you reach the heart of the Aster: the Communal Courtyard . The courtyard choreographs impromptu discussions with neighbours, sets the stage for large meals with residents and visitors, and acts as a naturally beautiful and secluded year-round refuge.

The central courtyard provides access to all the dwellings, as well as a large outdoor kitchen, a harvest table, and a fire pit. Functionally, double aspect dwellings allow for cross ventilation, reducing energy spent cooling in the summer.

Exposed heavy timber structure can be seen in historic architecture throughout Banff and the rest of the Rocky Mountains, and provides a sustainable advantage to building in these areas. An external structure minimizes thermal bridging and provides the opportunity for more socially and naturally-engaging external circulation.

Open-air walkways provide each unit with a front door, cultivating a sense of belonging. This solution also substantially reduce the amount of conditioned space required for the building, meaning less energy spent on heating, ventilation, and daytime lighting. Less enclosed square footage means less material (and therefore less embodied energy) spent on constructing additional walls and finishes.

“The Banff Community Plan ensures that Banff provides a mix of affordable housing options for every Banff-ite, while reinforcing Banff’s sense of place and ensuring high standards of design for both building and landscape architecture. The Aster proposal is an excellent example of all the ambitions set out in the Community Plan.”

- Sharon Oakley

Manager of Sustainability and Housing, Town of Banff

The story of housing in Banff wouldn't be complete without the unique typology of the backyard cabin, which emerged as a grassroots response to the town's limited land and housing availability.

The existing Hindes cabin onsite is an important part of this history and as such, the Aster maintains the Hindes Cabin as a feature amenity space and weaves it into the next chapter of Banff's affordable housing narrative.

The Aster features an array of dwelling layouts for residents at different stages in life. One, two, and three bedroom dwellings, including some with vaulted loft spaces, are laid out equitably across the building masses.

The dwellings have been designed with careful consideration of the building’s prefabricated wood structural system. Alignment with a standard 8' structural grid throughout the building, along with other interior space saving techniques, makes the most of the site while providing dignified and high-quality dwellings.

The unique lifestyle of a Banff resident is reflected throughout the finishes, layout, and in-house millwork options, which aim to enhance the experience of mountain living. Each dwelling features refined yet robust interior finish materials, such as Douglas Fir plywood and textured wall paint accents, to ensure the living spaces are unique and long lasting.

The focal point of each dwelling’s millwork is the gear wall, which uses a versatile pegboard to provide residents with the opportunity to store and display the equipment and items they use often and are most proud of.

The most intimate spaces of the Aster's dwellings seek to reconnect their inhabitants to the picturesque natural vistas all around them.

The variety of dwelling types frames these vistas in unique and dynamic ways to create bright and scenic amenity spaces in every home. The second level dwellings feature their own expansive bedroom-adjacent balcony, while the loft dwellings have a more secluded top-storey dormer balcony nook as well as a dormer-framed bedroom view.