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A gleaming modern crystalline tower peeks over the cornice of the Edwardian Edmonton Police Headquarters building in Downtown Edmonton. Walking a few blocks, the rest of the tower comes into view. Dubbed Citadel Cloud, it rises out of the Citadel Theatre like a lodgepole pine.
As you pass by the Zaha Hadid-designed Art Gallery of Alberta and glance northward, you take a moment to appreciate the engineering behind the 1960's-era, 244-metre CN Tower. Nicknamed "The Pylon," its height was eclipsed only a few years ago by the 278-metre "The Edmontonian" further north.
You wander south toward the river, since you have some time to kill before a big event at the Omniplex. Beyond the criss-crossing freeway bridges of the Rossdale Interchange, a glint of sunlight reflects off the organic forms of the The Indigenous Centre for Art and Knowledge, rising up from the edge of the river valley near the High Level Bridge.
If this Edmonton sounds unfamiliar to you, it should, as none of the buildings described - save for the Citadel Theatre sans tower - exist. In fact, they have never existed beyond drawings, renderings, and the imagination of city builders past and even present.
MADE (Media Architecture Design Edmonton) has curated an exhibition of these and many other unbuilt projects of the city in a show titled Unrealized: Edmonton's Unbuilt Heritage. The exhibition is now open at Edmonton City Centre Mall (10025 102A Ave), located on the second level just west of the pedway.
A grand opening event is taking place Thursday, October 10th at 7:00PM. Tickets to the event are $10, available via EventBrite.
Do you have a favourite unrealized project? Let us know in the comments below, or join our discussion forum!
