With the growing need for housing here in our city, Calgary designers and architects are definitely a commodity. Today more than ever, it’s necessary to create homes that break away from the cookie-cutter mould, as buyers are asking for homes that incorporate new and innovative floor plans to reflect their lifestyles and needs. With that in mind, it’s not every day you find someone who designs homes for several different cities, especially with styles and needs being different from one city to the next.

Richard Bukarewicz with Cardel Homes is among the talented individuals doing just that.

Two years after graduating from SAIT’s architectural technology program, Richard got his start in the business in Cardel’s drafting department. He first took standard floor plans and customized them for Cardel customers before going on to become design manager. Now 16 years into his career at the company, he is Cardel’s corporate design manager, now inking addresses built by Cardel’s  branches in Calgary, Ottawa, Tampa, Florida and Denver, Colorado.

One of Richard’s most recent Calgary designs is the Lexington II, a current show home in the southwest community of Chaparral Valley.

The base plan is 2,264 square-feet with a main floor flex room, three bedrooms and a bonus room. Richard says the beauty of the Lexington II is its options to increase the size of the house according to the client’s needs or wants. “The show home as it now sits in Chaparral Valley is designed with nine-foot ceilings on the main floor, an enlarged laundry room, a galley kitchen design which boasts an island that measures over eight feet by four feet, a tech space and walk–in pantry,” he says. “The master suite and ensuite—or spa area as I like to call it—has been designed with the owners in mind and includes an oversized shower, step-up tub, a large vanity with double sinks and a large walk-in closet for a total square footage of 2,497, with all the options existing in the showhome.”

Another great feature of this attractive home is that it is 30 feet wide and the staircase is in a unique location—effectively dividing the front and back of the house, while maintaining a feeling of spaciousness in both areas. With the tech-space off of the kitchen, the flex room can once again be used as a formal dining room or kept as a den, for residents who prefer a casual approach to mealtime in the breakfast nook.

Many of the features of the Lexington II aren’t normally found in homes of this size, says Richard. “I strived to design a unique floor plan with the flexibility to offer choices in kitchen designs,” he says. “And based on functionality and the client’s lifestyle, I was also able to showcase an alternate master ensuite—the spa—as a place in which the owners have a sanctuary to relax and rejuvenate. "A feature such as this would normally only be seen in homes over forty feet wide that were a total of 3,000 square-feet or more.”

Whether it’s here in Calgary, across the country, or in the U.S., Richard can be counted on to design homes that fit the region and lifestyle needs of people all over. Although he has been in the industry for many years, he will surely be an asset to the industry far into the future, and will continue to create innovative designs for future generations. NL