Shaping Shawnee Park
WITH RICHARD BUKAREWICZ A .T.VICE PRESIDENT OF ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN, CARDEL HOMES
A community as charming and distinguished as Shawnee Park warrants an equally compelling selection of home designs. To get a first-hand take on what inspired this maturing community’s unique architecture and overall vision, we spoke with Richard Bukarewicz, Vice President of Architecture and Design, who has been designing homes for Cardel since 1992.
What inspired the home design in Shawnee Park? “The goal was to select archi-tectural styles to compliment the mature, treed landscape of the site. We took inspirational, west-coast styles from Washington and Oregon and further fine-tuned them for the authentic, timeless look we were after for Shawnee Park.”
What features make homes unique in this neighbourhood?“It’s the attention to detail in style, scale, colour selection and land-scaping. If the architecture lacksthe right amount of detail to achieve an authentic style, is out of scale,or has a weak colour or landscaping scheme, the curb appeal usually suffers. Overall, Shawnee Park is designed to be a beautiful neigh-bourhood and we haven’t sacrificed attention-to-detail in our home design or landscaping aspects.I think that is a big reason it won BILD awards for both Communityof the Year and Showhome Parade of the Year.”
What types of homes are available?“The Shawnee Park product line is dynamic. We’ve done our homework and understand that buyers are looking for exciting, modern designs at various price levels and I think each Shawnee Park home-style offers something unique. Our bungalow solutions, for example, are designed with courtyard and front or rear-attached garage options. These homes come with maintenance-free decks and require minimal landscaping. Our Essentials series offer south-facing backyards that back onto a bufferand are great for buyers looking to get a quality home at a more afford-able price in an upscale neighbour-hood. We also have a wide variety of two-storey models that come with personalization options like vaulted ceilings with beautiful, wooden beams or double-island kitchens.
When it comes to design, what sets Cardel apart from its competitors?“We take the initiative to look at design differently. There are always a lot of cool things you can do with design, but they don’t always function properly for the home-owner. Our design team is very experienced and focused on space planning, function and style that works. We gather a large amount of information from the four cities we work in, which gives us a broader understanding of what’s important to people. We then use that experi-ence to make good design deci-sions. For example, we designed the Miro 2 kitchen to take advantage of the outdoor living space views. Customers love it.”
What new designs or features can buyers expect to see in this community?“We’ve introduced triple-cargarage plans in Shawnee Park with a variety of front-attached and rear-attached designs. With the density laws in Calgary, these types of lots are becoming more and more rare making this a great opportunity for buyers who are looking to build a larger home that is functional and affordable. We will also be introducing a variety of innovative, multi-generational options to future phases in Shawnee Park which have been growing in demand.”