KPMB shortlisted for Banff National Park design competition

October 21, 2025

KPMB has been shortlisted to participate in an international design competition for the redevelopment of the 200-Block of Banff Avenue in Banff, Alberta. Following a thorough pre-qualification process, Parks Canada recently selected six teams to develop conceptual design submissions for the competition, which will be overseen by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC).

The 200-Block of Banff Avenue is a unique opportunity to reimagine 10 contiguous lots within Banff to support visitor reception, enjoyment, and connection with the national park, while also fostering stewardship for natural landscapes that require protection. As outlined by Parks Canada, conceptual designs should emphasize design excellence, heritage conservation, environmental sustainability, community vision, and feasibility.  

The design competition officially launched on October 14. KPMB will have 7.5 weeks to develop and submit a conceptual design proposal to Parks Canada, with the design phase concluding in December 2025 and followed by engagement. The competition winner will be announced in spring 2026.  

Partner Kevin Bridgman will lead KPMB’s conceptual design submission. He has more than a decade of experience working within the UNESCO Banff National Park, including the renovation of the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity’s Jenny Belzberg Theatre, completed in 2020, and the transformation of the Banff Centre’s hotel and visitor destination, Lloyd Hall, completed in 2018. 

Bridgman also has significant master planning experience, having led the Downsview Framework Plan alongside Henning Larsen and SLA. The award-winning framework plan reimagines 520 acres of former airfields in Toronto as a series of mixed-use districts that prioritize ecology and thoughtful residential density. 

Elsewhere in Alberta, Bridgman is leading the ongoing Arts Commons Transformation, now known as the Werklund Centre, in Calgary. Combining new construction with existing heritage buildings, the project reimagines a full city block as a public-facing cultural destination that is welcoming and accessible to all Calgarians. 

(Lead image credit: Daniel Dery, courtesy of Parks Canada)