Luxury Penthouse with a Sustainable Touch
Last Updated: Feb 19, 2025Penthouses are usually associated with expense and luxury, and thus astronomical prices per square foot. However, in downtown Edmonton, Canada, one architect spotted a perfect opportunity to renovate a mechanical room that had fallen into disuse—a space she could transform into a penthouse she could call her own.
Architect Vivian Manasc, LEED®AP and a senior principal with Manasc Isaac, which has offices in Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver, was touring the New Cambridge Lofts. The Lofts had initially been designed in 1968 by the architectural firm Richards Berretii Jellenick as a modern office building. During the tour, an old mechanical room caught her eye.
Where others might have only seen a dilapidated, windowless warehouse constructed of metal cladding, Manasc saw the potential for a gorgeous, 19th-floor, Manhattan-style penthouse that would become her future home. Despite not having any insulation and just one door, Manasc saw the space's potential for unparalleled views and abundant natural light.
Back in the day, the building had offered prime office space. In 2002 the building was converted into condominiums with 200 residential and commercial units. During its conversion to residences, the old mechanical systems used to power the office space was removed and upgraded to more energy-efficient alternatives. In 2014, extensive streetscaping enhanced the building's desirability. However, the top-floor mechanical room was abandoned—and was an unattractive blot on the city's skyline.
"It was just sitting there vacant," says Manasc of the structure. Her firm specializes in sustainable design and has completed many projects, including the first LEED Gold project built in the Arctic. "We were touring the building to look at the conditions. When we happened to come across this big empty building, I saw it as an opportunity ripe for picking."
Manasc purchased the mechanical building in January 2011. Her ambitious renovations of the old structure into her new sustainable home began that spring.
Table of Contents
- Artful Touches
- Simple Sustainability
- Challenges and Solutions
Artful Touches
Today, Manasc's 250-square-meter (2,690-square-foot) penthouse is easily recognizable. Its eye-catching colored glass panels add a vibrant touch amid the primarily black and gray steel skyline. Because the renovation took place on the building's 19th floor, Manasc says she could add these creative touches.
While a mix of bright colors might be a bit too much in another neighborhood, "when you're designing something that seems far away, you can be bold with the color choices," she says. The penthouse's location high above the street allowed them to add an array of exciting colors to the skyline.
Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.
