Our Philosophy
Dedication: For over 30 years, AK continues to fulfill our commitment not only to each of our clients and to the industry, but also to ourselves. We are dedicated to our own growth as professionals, upholding the highest of standards, beginning with ourselves and extending onto all that we do.
Originality: Abugov Kaspar does not promote a single architectural style. Instead, we consider the fundamental ways in which buildings create place, inside and out. Purpose, function, and context are always unique, and so the client's vision and needs guide our design approach.
Collaboration: At AK we value all of our team member’s ideas, expertise and input. The open concept layout of our studio truly facilitates communication and teamwork ensuring that the entire team is on the same page and focused on meeting timelines and budgets.
Our History
Building on a long-standing family practice that designed many of Alberta’s early high rise towers as well as the West Edmonton Mall, Bruce Abugov and Frank Kaspar brought together a considerable wealth of experience and knowledge when they became partners in 1989. The firm quickly flourished through the 1990s with projects completed in Calgary and Western Canada, while subsidiary Abugov•Kaspar International was created to carry out work in Russia, the Czech Republic, the USA, Taiwan, and many other countries.
Early projects included office and retail centres, large-scale master plans, aging care homes, hotels, residential towers, and the Nordic Ski Centre in Khanty-Mansiysk, a renowned facility that hosts annual Biathlon World Cup events.
During the 1990s the firm also established what has become a leading practice in aging care centres. Many of our pioneering ideas are now widely used throughout the industry; today our firm and projects are recognized for setting Alberta’s benchmark in aging care design.
In the 2000s our practice continued to grow; our prolific and notable projects included high rise towers, commercial office buildings, mixed use developments, and several adaptive reuse projects, including many of the century-old sandstone buildings along Calgary’s Stephen Avenue, a federally protected historic site famous for shopping, dining, and entertainment.
Beginning on our fourth decade, our practice continues to develop, diversify, and thrive. Some of our recent projects include the LEED-silver Atlantic Avenue Art Block in Inglewood, Mount Royal Village West in Calgary's Beltline, and the Heninger Toyota Service Centre, one of Canada’s largest upscale auto service centres.
Our Firm
We like to think of our AK team as a family. Our team has been carefully curated to bring a diverse number of skills, ideas and experiences as well as adaptability, relevancy and leadership together as a unit. Our multicultural team brings many different angles, education backgrounds and ideas to each stage of each project, maximizing on originality and concentrating on collaboration. For over 30 years, AK has promoted an open concept approach where communication and collaboration are facilitated through a versatile layout of workstations, islands and meeting spaces. AK members across departments work closely alongside each other, always learning from and supporting one another.
