DIALOG is a top-tier design firm that combines architecture and engineering to build spaces that help communities thrive. This article looks at how their multidisciplinary team creates sustainable landmarks across North America, from massive public libraries to carbon-neutral towers. See how DIALOG is working toward its goal of making every design carbon-neutral by 2030.
About DIALOG
DIALOG is a multi-disciplinary design firm that believes great design can change the world. With a team of architects, engineers, and planners, they focus on creating inspiring destinations that connect people to their communities and the environment. They are especially known for their commitment to sustainability, with a clear goal to make all their projects carbon-neutral by 2030.
8 past, present, and future projects from DIALOG
1. Calgary Central Library
- Location: Calgary, AB
- Year built: 2018
- Typology: Public library/civic space
This iconic building sits directly on a working Light Rail Transit line, a major engineering challenge. The exterior features a stunning hexagonal pattern made of glass and aluminum that catches the light in different ways throughout the day. Inside, the space is wrapped in warm wood arches inspired by the Chinook clouds found in Alberta. It was designed to bridge the gap between Calgary’s Downtown and East Village, turning a former transit split into a welcoming community hub.
2. Centennial College A-Building expansion
- Location: Scarborough, ON
- Year built: 2023
- Typology: Higher education
This expansion project is a major milestone as Canada’s first LEED Gold, zero-carbon, and mass timber higher-education facility. The design is rooted in the Indigenous concept of Two-Eyed Seeing, which intentionally blends Western and Indigenous perspectives to create a space for truth and reconciliation.
One of the most unique features is the building’s skin, which is made of aluminum panels shaped like fish scales. This living skin was designed using modern software to mimic the way animal skin moves and breathes. Inside, the structure is made almost entirely of sustainably harvested wood, including massive glulam beams and columns that give the space a warm, natural feel.
3. Royal Alberta Museum
- Location: Edmonton, AB
- Year built: 2018
- Typology: Museum/cultural
As the largest museum in Western Canada, the Royal Alberta Museum was designed to be a continuous story of Alberta’s history and landscape. The layout uses gallery blocks that align with the historic city grid, specifically the British Cartesian and French seigneurial systems that meet in downtown Edmonton.
A major highlight in the lobby is the 18-meter spiral staircase made of cast-in-place concrete. Its curving shape was inspired by the water-carved canyons in the Rocky Mountains. DIALOG also honored the site’s history by saving and restoring mosaic panels from the post office that once stood on the property. These colorful mosaics were re-incorporated into the new facade to act as a screen for the cafe garden.
4. MacKimmie Complex
- Location: Calgary, AB
- Year built: 2022
- Typology: Higher education/renewal
The MacKimmie Complex is a masterclass in adaptive reuse, involving the deep-green retrofit of a 1960s library tower at the end of its lifespan. By stripping the building to its original concrete core rather than demolishing it, DIALOG avoided 3,300 tonnes of CO2 emissions, the equivalent of taking hundreds of cars off the road for a year.
The building features a double-skin glass façade that acts as a “breathing” skin, using automated windows and blinds to respond to Calgary’s weather in real time. This system works with the exposed concrete structure to facilitate natural ventilation and passive heating, allowing the complex to use 80% less energy than the original structure. A basement cistern also captures 150,000 liters of rainwater and runoff for reuse, saving over 1.8 million liters of potable water annually.
5. Mechanized River Valley access
- Location: Edmonton, AB
- Year built: 2017
- Typology: Urban infrastructure/public space
This project was designed to solve a significant connectivity challenge: the steep 50-meter drop between Edmonton’s downtown and its river valley park system. DIALOG’s solution was a funicular, an inclined elevator, paired with a massive wooden staircase, a boardwalk, and a scenic lookout point. This allows everyone, including cyclists and people with mobility challenges, to safely navigate the steep slope that was previously a major barrier to accessing the city’s green space.
The project is a leader in sustainable urban integration. The funicular itself is energy-efficient; when the cabin moves downhill, it actually rotates the motor to generate electricity that is returned to the grid. The design uses durable, natural materials like Kebony wood and weathering steel to blend into the surrounding environment, ensuring the infrastructure feels like a part of the park rather than an intrusion.
6. The Hive (2150 Keith Drive)
- Location: Vancouver, BC
- Year built: 2025
- Typology: Office/mass timber
This 10-storey building is poised to become the tallest timber seismic-force-resisting structure in North America. To solve the challenge of building a tall wood tower in a high-seismic zone, DIALOG used a kit-of-parts prefabricated strategy. The structure features a unique honeycomb-shaped exoskeleton made of glulam beams and cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels, which eliminates the need for a traditional concrete core.
A major technical breakthrough for this project is the use of specialized self-centering structural connectors. These allow the building to shift during an earthquake and then return to its original position, making it effectively earthquake-proof. By choosing wood over concrete, the project avoided emitting over 1,700 metric tons of greenhouse gases, roughly equivalent to taking 1,290 cars off the road for a year.
7. Glenbow Reimagined
- Location: Calgary, AB
- Year built: 2027
- Typology: Museum/Cultural
This project is transforming a 1970s concrete fortress into a transparent community hub that welcomes everyone. By choosing to reuse the original concrete structure rather than demolishing it, DIALOG prevented 38,000 tons of waste from going to the landfill.
The new design features a massive skylight that filters natural light down through all eight floors of the museum. It also includes an all-season rooftop pavilion where people can gather and look out over the Calgary skyline, no matter the weather.
8. Berczy Square Lobby (33 Yonge Street)
- Location: Toronto, ON
- Year built: 2026 (Renovation)
- Typology: Office/public realm
This Berczy Square Lobby at 33 Yonge Street transformed a dated 1980s office lobby into a wellness-inspired indoor town square that connects the Financial District with the historic St. Lawrence neighborhood. DIALOG’s design concept, titled “Pause,” addresses the post-pandemic challenge of earning the commute by turning a static pass-through space into a social destination. The renovation features one of Toronto’s only atrium-style lobbies, centered on a 90-foot-tall digital art screen that displays generative content responding to real-time data, such as weather and local sports.
To bring the outside in, DIALOG used 100% Canadian materials to create a Zen-like landscape, including tree-like columns, a reflecting pool, and a vapor-based fire pit. Technical upgrades include a nine-story trellis structure wrapped around the elevator bay and integrated greenery that improves indoor air quality. By incorporating five new restaurants and a private fitness facility, the project successfully blurred the lines between a private workplace and a public community hub.
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