Western Living Magazine
Protected: Merit Kitchens: Urban Cool Meets West Coast Warmth
Finalists Announced: HAVAN Professionals Inspire
East Van Escape
Recipe: Balsamic Strawberry Sponge Cake from Oh Sweet Day
Recipe: The Perfect Blueberry Scones for Springtime
The Only Irish Coffee Recipe You’ll Ever Need
I Had the Best Nap of My Life in an Anti-Gravity Pod
Editors’ Picks: The Best Trips We Took in 2022
Victoria Might Just Be the Perfect Pre-New Year’s Getaway
The Future of Beauty: How One Medical Aesthetics Clinic is Changing the Game
Trending Now: The Best New Furniture and Homewares for Spring
Sleep Tight, Whatever Your Size: This Mattress Company Embraces All Body Types
Designers of the Year 2023: Meet Your Maker Judges
Designers of the Year 2023: Meet the Architecture Judges
What It’s Like to Win a Designers of the Year Award
Is a restaurant's design more important than the food? The designer trio behind Calgary's most frequented rooms makes a compelling case.
Designers/Architects, Frank Architecture, Calgary
The next time you’re dining in Calgary, do yourself a favour and look beyond the plate of food that’s in front of you. What will you see? If you’re at Bridgette Bar, you’ll notice a 1960s-inspired collection of mid-century-modern furniture, macramé and your-grandma-will-think-it’s-cool emerald marble. If you’re at Model Milk, you’ll discover southern comfort food served in an industrial-meets-Mad-Men–style space (think wood panelling, leather banquettes and fur throws). Next door, Pigeonhole (named best new restaurant in Canada by enRoute magazine in 2015) boasts a Parisian wine bar/café vibe, and down the block at Anju you can feast on Korean tapas in a modern dining room that has subtle-but-gorgeous nods to East Asia.
Though each restaurant’s design and concept is distinct, all have been brought to life by Frank Architecture—the female-founded firm made up of Kate Allen, Kristen Lien and Kelly Morrison that has transformed Calgary’s dining scene into a mecca of locally influenced, design-oriented bars, lounges and eateries. And now, with plans to step outside Alberta’s borders (the team at Frank has been tasked with revamping the Fairmont Chateau Whistler’s food and beverage spaces and are already working on projects in B.C., Saskatchewan and Manitoba), they’re well on their way to becoming a household name in Western Canada, and there’s no telling when—or where—they’ll stop.
FRANK ARCHITECTURE: FAST FACTS
Dish You’d Wait in Line For
“The Fermière galette at Suzette Bistro. I never order anything else.”—Kate Allen
Current Design Obsession
“Navy, raw chalky white and layered textured fabrics.”—Kristen Lien
Design Mantra
“Design like you give a damn.”—Kelly Morrison
Are you over 18 years of age?