Culturally Speaking: The Influence of Calgary’s Sandstone Schools on the city’s growth

In response to fire safety, Calgary built nineteen schools of sandstone construction prior to the First World War. While these buildings were unique to Calgary, the communities they served, the neighbourhoods that grew around them went on to define Calgary as a city. Join speaker Darrel G. Babuk on March 11, 2026 to learn about this uniquely Calgarian building type that influenced an urban growth pattern.

RSVP

Speaker: Darrel G. Babuk, M. Arch., Retired Architect AAA, President Boreas Studios Incorporated

Biography: From a railway family, Darrel grew up living in Canadian prairie railroad stations. As a student at Crescent Heights High School, he worked for WG Milne, Architect maintaining drawing and letter files. Studying architecture at Montana State University, he was elected to lead the national office of the American Institute of Architecture Students in Washington, DC. After interning in Calgary, he eventually opened a practice in that Chicago worked with clients such as the Chicago Public School Board and the Chicago Transit Authority. His specialty became working with historic projects and their communities. Currently retired as an Architect, Darrel’s building heritage and conservation practice, Boreas Studios Incorporated, whose focus is promoting and preserving the heritage of Alberta’s built environment.