[Boris2k7]

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/9189/bowlogorm1ml6.gif
Under Construction


http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/6648/archybowyo7.png


100

Description of the Bow

The Bow is an office tower being built for Encana, one of the largest Energy Companies in North America. It is comprised of two buildings, including a main office tower and a cultural/retail podium, spanning two full city blocks. It also will encapsulate two heritage buildings (one being the Royal Canadian Legion #1, which is a provincial historic resource and not officially part of the development) as well as the facade of the York Hotel. The project was sold to H&R REIT to develop, and the lead architectural firm is Foster and Partners from London, UK. The main tower will be the tallest building in Canada outside of Toronto at 236m and also the crown of Calgary's skyline.


Who is building the Bow?

Owner

H&R REIT (http://www.hr-reit.com/)

Developer

Matthews Southwest (http://www.matthewssouthwest.com/)

Tenant(s)

Encana (http://www.encana.com)

Architect(s)

Foster + Partners (http://www.fosterandpartners.com)
Zeidler Partnership (http://www.zrpa.com/)
Sturgess (http://www.sturgessarchitecture.com)

Secondary Designer(s)

GGN (http://www.ggnltd.com/content/profile.htm)
Carson McCulloch Associates (http://www.carsonmcculloch.com/)
Gensler (http://www.gensler.com/)

Engineering

Halcrow Yolles (http://www.halcrow.com/halcrowyolles/)
Cosentini Associates (http://www.cosentini.com/)
D.A. Watt Consulting (http://www.dawatt.com/index.aspx)
Kellam Berg (http://www.kellamberg.com/)

Retail Strategist(s)

Talbot Consulting (http://www.talbotconsultants.com/pro-type/downtown-encana.html)

General Contractor(s)

Ledcor (http://www.ledcor.com/en)

Excavation

Professional Excavators (http://www.professionalexcavators.com/)

Supplier(s)

Newway Forming (http://www.newwayforming.com/)
Lehigh Inland (http://www.lehighinland.com/inland/)
Dynamic Concrete (http://www.dcpu1.com/)
Harris Rebar (http://www.harrisrebar.com/)
ADF Group (http://www.adfgroup.com)
Supreme Group/Walters Group Joint Venture (http://www.waltersinc.com)
Sota Glazing (http://www.sotawall.com/)
OTIS (http://www.otis.com)

Waste Management

Budget Waste (http://www.budgetwaste.com/)



Where is it? Do you have a map?

Centre to 1st Street S.E. and 5th to 6th Avenue S.E., Calgary, AB (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=128+-+6+Avenue+SE+calgary&sll=51.046444,-114.06241&sspn=0.011979,0.033689&ie=UTF8&ll=51.047424,-114.062226&spn=0.011979,0.033689&z=16&om=1)


What is the development timeline?

2011/00/00 || Construction finished
2010/03/00 || Structure topped out
2008/07/04 || 6th Ave SW reopened
2008/05/09 || Raft Slab poured (3 Days)
2008/05/01 || Floorplate revised
2007/08/21 || 6th Ave SW closed
2007/05/05 || Excavation started
2007/03/08 || Development Permit approved
2007/02/09 || Tower sold to H&R REIT
2006/10/12 || Design unveiled
2005/10/04 || Second land acquisition
2005/08/23 || First land acquisition
2005/07/11 || Project announcement
2002/04/05 || EnCana born from merger of PanCanadian and AEC


Give me some specifics!

Development Permit (DP-2006-3431) (http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/BU/dba/calgary_planning_commission/agenda/2007/dp2006_3431_part1_n.pdf)

Land Use

Office
Retail
Institutional*

Estimated Cost

~ $1,300,000,000.00 (CAD)

Size & Density
Roof Height (Tower) -- 58 Storeys | 236m | 774'
Roof Height (Podium) -- 7 Storeys | 39m | 128'
Gross Floor Area -- 217,404m² | 2,340,117'² +
FAR -- 12.43 +
Materials
Concrete -- 100,000m³
Steel -- 39,000 tonnes
Curtain Wall Glass -- 8,000 panels | 900,000'²
Parking
1,360 Automobile Stalls -- 1,000,000'²
420 Bicycle Spots -- 320 Above Grade | 100 Below Grade
Elevators
22 Shafts
44 Cabs
Sustainability Features
Atria improve ventilation
Displacement Ventilation limits tempered zone to occupied space
Tower orientation takes advantage of passive solar energy
Structural system reduces the amount of steel required
Office floor cooling and heating provided by Environmental Air Tower unit with under-floor distribution
Permanent carbon dioxide monitoring system will be installed

*Institutional usage pending


Are there webcams?

Camera 1 (http://camera1.matthewsdev.com/)
Camera 2 (http://camera2.matthewsdev.com/)
Camera 3 (http://camera3.matthewsdev.com/)


Where can I read more about this tower?

2008/11/15 || Globe and Mail | H&R says it will get financing to build Bow (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081115.RTICKERA15-2/TPStory/?query=H%26R)
2008/11/14 || Globe and Mail | H&R REIT hits a roadblock with The Bow (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081114.RH14/TPStory/Business)
2008/07/04 || Calgary Herald | 6th Avenue back in action (http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=89d47d0e-c603-40a2-b76e-86e48e3ffe2d)
2008/06/16 || Calgary Sun | EnCana deal will put Calgary on world art map (http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Platt_Michael/2008/06/16/5890296-sun.php)
2008/06/12 || Calgary Herald | Tower changes draw criticism (http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=090878e4-41c0-4988-a95e-60f240210b95)
2008/06/07 || Globe and Mail | So many promises: Were they just a tall tale? (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080607.ROCHON07/TPStory/TPEntertainment/)
2008/06/06 || Journal of Commerce | Tons of steel make Calgary’s Bow tower possible (http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id28140)
2008/06/04 || Calgary Herald | Stampede expects 6th Avenue route for parade as Bow closure nears end (http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=8f2f0257-41e0-4018-9528-163affb4a4f2)
2008/05/17 || Calgary Herald | Making their mark (http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=9e8ad152-cdbc-48f7-9e42-8556abbf3b7b)
2008/05/17 || Calgary Herald | Historic status preserves hotel (http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=d2c65b25-8bfc-4397-b386-1e311f1b8842)
2008/05/12 || Globe and Mail | EnCana starts Calgary tower (http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080512.RBOW12/TPStory/?query=)
2008/05/10 || Calgary Herald | Big Pour (http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=8e5ee7de-6bd3-400f-8529-f675f111d66b)
2008/04/29 || Calgary Herald | EnCana tower may house campus (http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=b58bddba-dada-451b-9e1b-8c9223c52e45)
2008/04/20 || Calgary Herald | Building the Bow (http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/calgarybusiness/story.html?id=9ff75f3e-0e9e-4d5c-b1b8-470d5070b948&k=49752)
2008/03/27 || CBC | EnCana Tower Construction on Schedule, Builder Says (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2008/03/27/encana-preview.html)
2008/03/20 || Calgary Herald | Parade route could be changed (http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/story.html?id=0057366f-e020-4019-a5d1-53e1ec190da4&k=63905)
2008/01/01 || The Walrus | Calgary: The Events Leading Up To Sir Norman Foster (http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2008.02-urban-affairs-calgary-the-events-leading-up-to-sir-norman-foster/1/)

2007/12/08 || Calgary Herald | St. Regis Hotel targeted as heritage site (http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=7774e7b1-3266-4ff0-9455-af16fcf7f62b&k=68904)
2007/10/10 || Calgary Herald | EnCana construction puts brakes on Santa Claus parade (http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=8ce36ecd-ccb4-4da8-b835-5276ba484e4b&k=64519)
2007/09/01 || Where | Calgary's Architectural Revolution (http://www.where.ca/calgary/article_feature~listing_id~132.htm)
2007/08/29 || Venture Magazine | Ledcor Construction - The Bow Project (http://www.venture-magazine.com/content/view/272/)
2007/08/27 || CBC | Construction closes Sixth Avenue (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2007/08/21/traffic-calgary.html)
2007/08/24 || Calgary Herald | Bow tower's Legion neighbours cry foul over access problems (http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=7974ed0b-49f1-4d8e-a72a-a0fca70aa667)
2007/08/20 || Journal of Commerce | EnCana preserves part of York Hotel friezes for future use in The Bow (http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id24062)
2007/07/01 || Venture Magazine | Soaring High (http://www.sotawall.com/downloads/pdf/venture%20article.pdf)
2007/06/29 || Calgary Herald | Tower won't house gallery (http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=858b8695-a194-45a5-9956-d6ba8c4def4d&k=27810)
2007/05/23 || Globe and Mail | It takes a tower (http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070523.rmbow0523/BNStory/specialROBmagazine/home)
2007/03/26 || Journal of Commerce | The Bow tower loses one floor (http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/20070326150)
2007/02/09 || CNW Group | H&R REIT signs the largest single tenant lease in Canadian history (http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2007/09/c6375.html)
2007/02/05 || CBC | Bow tower construction could snarl traffic (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2007/02/05/office-traffic.html)
2007/01/11 || Elemente Magazine | Rise of the Bow (http://www.elementemag.com/index.php/news/25/63/d,item_detail)

2006/10/27 || Canadian Architect | Foster + Partners spectacular design sculpts new lines across Calgary skyline (http://www.cdnarchitect.com/issues/ISarticle.asp?id=61754&story_id=&issue=10272006&PC=)
2006/10/21 || The Pipeline | Look up for EnCana’s new offices, way up (http://www.wcpipeline.com/cgi-bin/exec/view.pl?archive=3&num=1057)
2006/10/18 || Journal of Commerce | The Bow to bow into Calgary’s downtown (http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/20061018100)
2006/10/13 || Calgary Herald | Calgary's future skyline unveiled (http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=2f52e71a-9cf2-44f8-89ac-fdf43669c26a&k=39050)
2006/07/26 || Financial Post | The roots of EnCana's new tower (http://www.financialpost.com/scripts/story.html?id=cf1f7059-ac75-4705-8107-72a1ba0732a5&k=75058)

2005/12/14 || Calgary Herald | EnCana selects top architectural firm (http://working.canada.com/vancouver/rss/story.html?s_id=Fro06%2F0z5HikQDWk56HBDfQux5493%2FhqI089AfjsC3WTDK2U3ju4cg%3D%3D)
2005/11/22 || Globe and Mail | EnCana project expands Calgary downtown (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20051122/PRCALGARY22/TPRealestate/)
2005/10/24 || Bloomberg | EnCana Leads Real Estate Boom in Heart of Canada's Oil Patch (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000082&sid=aQt.kNMUd7ao&refer=canada)


100

Renderings

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/4820/thebowfoster0511086.jpg

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/8223/bowskyline2011xm8.th.jpg (http://img296.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bowskyline2011xm8.jpg) http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/1183/viewlevel24mountaindr1.th.jpg (http://img247.imageshack.us/my.php?image=viewlevel24mountaindr1.jpg) http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/8149/sustainabilitysave30opeoz4.th.jpg (http://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sustainabilitysave30opeoz4.jpg) http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/6048/skygardensfromexterioruu3.th.jpg (http://img296.imageshack.us/my.php?image=skygardensfromexterioruu3.jpg) http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/1481/stagesxb0.th.jpg (http://img258.imageshack.us/my.php?image=stagesxb0.jpg) http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/4417/plazadm7.th.jpg (http://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=plazadm7.jpg)

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/1579/thebow41vk4.th.jpg (http://img296.imageshack.us/my.php?image=thebow41vk4.jpg) http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/1505/plus15accessso0.th.jpg (http://img294.imageshack.us/my.php?image=plus15accessso0.jpg) http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/1397/thebowfoster0511082.th.jpg (http://img27.imageshack.us/my.php?image=thebowfoster0511082.jpg) http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/9088/internalviewplus15levellm7.th.jpg (http://img247.imageshack.us/my.php?image=internalviewplus15levellm7.jpg) http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/9066/thebowfoster0511081.th.jpg (http://img17.imageshack.us/my.php?image=thebowfoster0511081.jpg)

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/8514/cdnthebow03lgoy2co9.th.jpg (http://img257.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cdnthebow03lgoy2co9.jpg) http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/8438/thebow36ph8.th.jpg (http://img294.imageshack.us/my.php?image=thebow36ph8.jpg) http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/5585/thebow38qk3.th.jpg (http://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=thebow38qk3.jpg) http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/379/thebow37zt3.th.jpg (http://img296.imageshack.us/my.php?image=thebow37zt3.jpg) http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/8381/thebow39hp4.th.jpg (http://img263.imageshack.us/my.php?image=thebow39hp4.jpg) http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/4403/thebow40yr8.th.jpg (http://img206.imageshack.us/my.php?image=thebow40yr8.jpg)

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/8492/level24skygardenlayoutyr3.th.jpg (http://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=level24skygardenlayoutyr3.jpg)http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/8223/typicalofficelevelnewog3.th.jpg (http://img294.imageshack.us/my.php?image=typicalofficelevelnewog3.jpg) http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/4748/plus15connectionstelusfa1.th.jpg (http://img247.imageshack.us/my.php?image=plus15connectionstelusfa1.jpg) http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/7344/conferencecentreflooryr2.th.jpg (http://img246.imageshack.us/my.php?image=conferencecentreflooryr2.jpg)


100

Thanks for visiting The Bow's construction thread!
The #1 source for info on The Bow online!

(I dare you to find better... just try)

[Boris2k7]

In any case...

The latest images from the construction site... (start of construction)

May 05, 2007

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/4871/22229151hg5ky3.jpg
Courtesy of Surrealplaces

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/7108/bow02aj4.jpg
Courtesy of myself (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/member.php?u=9782)

[kazpmk]

Exciting to see construction begin. The tower looks huge!

[TOBoy]

New tallest under construction building in the country. Exciting times in Canada.

[Boris2k7]

New pics by DLLB


May 09, 2007

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/6580/p5090140aqu5.jpg
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/2005/p5090145avj2.jpg
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/9135/p5090148amo3.jpg
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/3316/p5090165aen4.jpg
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/4235/p5090143axy8.jpg
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/2702/p5090152alc7.jpg
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/9493/p5090233aag2.jpg

[1ajs]

nice to see it start :)

looks forward to coming out at some point and geting shots of it rising :P

[bomberguy]

This is a beast.

[1ajs]

of course its the new tallest in western canada beeting out is niebor for that title lol

[Wooster]

It is exciting seeing action on this site knowing what is about to rise. :tup:

[tokama]

Yee-haw!

(Sorry, as a long-time Calgarian I rarely give in to the cliche cowboy chatter - but - what can I say this is a great f$#kin building!!!)

[You Need A Thneed]

Looking at the rendering again, I just realized that I hadn't seen the balcony above the existing York Hotel facade before.

[Calgarian]

This is one of the nicest highrise proposals I've seen on here, Calgary is damn lucky to be getting a building of this calibre, kudos Encana for giving us a building that isn't another glass or concrete box. kudos

[Beyond 1000]

I also agree that The Bow looks wonderful. Good job Calgary!

[Bokimon]

Let the games begin!
Pound those piles and get some diggings to begin!

Game On!

[giallo]

My favourite Canadian building UC. My only gripe is the width of the thing.

[Thinner6]

My favourite Canadian building UC. My only gripe is the width of the thing.

I don't think it will appear so wide once constructed.

[The Chemist]

I don't think it will appear so wide once constructed.

I think somebody showed it wasn't any wider than PetroCanada, so I would have to say you're right.

I'm very excited to see work underway on this project - it seems like it's taken forever to get to this point, but now that it's underway it's just fantastic. :)

[mersar]

It won't. Width wise its only just a little wider then PCC's west tower (which doesn't appear wide due to it sitting on an angle on the block), and the height will balance out any width anyways, especially from up close.

Another amazing thing about it is the number of calgary forumers who have bought new cameras recently, with the justification of needing them to take shots of this one.

[giallo]

Wow! I was just looking at some of those thumbnails:


Beautifully arranged

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/527/thebow32iy4.jpg


Is it like this all the way to the top floor?

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/7164/thebow34qq8.jpg

[Wooster]

There are three sections of the atrium the full height of the tower. Each is about 20 storeys tall.


This image best explains it.
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/2481/thebow9mw9.jpg

[Calgarian]

It won't. Width wise its only just a little wider then PCC's west tower (which doesn't appear wide due to it sitting on an angle on the block), and the height will balance out any width anyways, especially from up close.

Another amazing thing about it is the number of calgary forumers who have bought new cameras recently, with the justification of needing them to take shots of this one.

I think it will appear signifigantly wider that PCC, but once we are used to seeing it, we won't be able to imagine the skyline with out it.

[Wooster]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/joshwhit/development/IMG_0034.jpg

[Boris2k7]

All pics courtesy of myself (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/member.php?u=9782)

May 19, 2007

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/9131/bow01hh8.jpg

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/9837/bow02bh6.jpg

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/5459/bow03vz3.jpg

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/8823/bow04ve9.jpg

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/2718/bow05hh4.jpg

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/886/bow06mh4.jpg

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/3907/bow07ov9.jpg

http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/1131/bow08ju2.jpg

[Plus15]

FYI, the parking lot for the South building (Cultural & Retail) was closed, fenced off and there was machinery on site today.

[sync]

i can't wait to stand inside this one!

[ontheroad]

Thanks for the updates! What a great addition to a already dense(and pretty tall) skyline!

[FrancoRey]

Yeah...I wish Denver could get a new office tower like this one :( . The other mountain metropolis is in desperate need of a skyline update before Calgary passes our city's downtown size...this tower will give it the trophy for tallest Rocky Mtn tower.

We have this, but it's only around 700 feet like the rest of our damn towers...while it's a step towards better creativity and fascinating design, it still falls a bit short of a building like The Bow.

Courtesy Denverinfill.com

http://www.denverinfill.com/images/blog/2007-04/2007-04-24_fourseasons1.jpg

[WhipperSnapper]

while it's a step towards better creativity and fascinating design, it still falls a bit short of a building like The Bow


c'mon ... lets be real .. this Denver highrise is goodlookin' but falls far short of something like the Bow

[TOBoy]

It seems like the project has been around forever and has had nothing happen.

The Hyatt really turned out to be an ugly monstrocity. Its too bad. Denver deserves better.

[StatenIslander237]

It seems like the project has been around forever and has had nothing happen.

The Hyatt really turned out to be an ugly monstrocity. Its too bad. Denver deserves better.

I wouldn't go that far. The Hyatt looks like what it is, a mid-range hotel near a convention center, and seeing as Denver has not seen much in the way of new towers, anything is welcome.

As far as waiting goes, I know how you feel. Try living in New York, waiting for the new WTC to start. :rolleyes:

[zanekin]

Really, the Hyatt Denver is not that bad...not bad at all actually, and the four seasons is great. Its a much anticipated addition to the denver skyline. Whats with all the competition? Congrats to Calgary on the Bow, and congrats to Denver on the Four Seasons!

[TOBoy]

Not really competition, just that Calgary and Denver are very similar so its interesting to compare them.

As far as waiting goes, I know how you feel. Try living in New York, waiting for the new WTC to start.

I thought it started a year or so ago and nothing ever happened. Its really difficult to tell when the project will go up or if they are just claiming its going up to show activity is taking place.

As for the Bow, its a great addition and will be one of the biggest skyline changers along with Shangri-la in Vancouver.

[Jay in Cowtown]

Yeah...I wish Denver could get a new office tower like this one :( . The other mountain metropolis is in desperate need of a skyline update before Calgary passes our city's downtown size...this tower will give it the trophy for tallest Rocky Mtn tower.

We have this, but it's only around 700 feet like the rest of our damn towers...while it's a step towards better creativity and fascinating design, it still falls a bit short of a building like The Bow.

Courtesy Denverinfill.com

http://www.denverinfill.com/images/blog/2007-04/2007-04-24_fourseasons1.jpg


I wouldn't trade skylines with ya... but I'd love to have your Invesco, Coors Field and the Pepsi Center... Oh, and Joe Sakic too!!!

[Thinner6]

We love ya, Denver. I'm sure a new tall is in the works for you guys sometime in the near future.

[Calgarian]

Wow, Denver's skyline is actually pretty similar looking to Calgary's, how much office space is in the core?

I can't wait for the stampede to start, then the Bow can start in earnest.

[Boris2k7]

All pics courtesy of myself (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/member.php?u=9782)

June 04, 2007


http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/2356/bow01gd9.jpg

http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/817/bow02mg8.jpg

http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/7997/bow03ra9.jpg

http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/1390/bow04rm3.jpg

[Calgarian]

how long has the York been fenced off?

[Doug]

It takes a tower
...To say EnCana is No. 1, ...to make its employees happy, ...to show
how green big oil can be (...and to maybe EVEN save Calgary's downtown)

CHRIS TURNER

From Friday's Globe and Mail
May 23, 2007 at 2:00 AM EDT

On March 15, architect and sustainability guru William McDonough delivered a lecture on green design for a sellout crowd of 350 at the Calgary Hyatt Regency. Before an increasingly hushed audience, McDonough described the headquarters he'd built for both Nike and the Gap, the factories he'd designed for Ford and Herman Miller. The Ford plant was topped by the world's largest "green" roof; the Herman Miller factory had paid for itself after three months, in productivity changes alone. The workplace, McDonough asserted, was the proper place to begin thinking about "the value proposition for executives to do the right thing." He moved on to a current client, Google, which, as he spoke, was covering its Silicon Valley offices and parking lots with solar panels. The best minds in high tech were choosing to pay about $500,000 more for their electricity every year, McDonough said, out of a deep concern not for natural resources but for human ones. "The average employee at Google produces revenue of a million dollars a year," he explained. The extra power cost is more than paid for each time a talented person comes on board simply to be with a "cool solar-powered company." Google, McDonough says, "has a different kind of mental model of what a value is."

The Hyatt was an auspicious venue for such talk. It sits across the street from the site of possibly the boldest green construction project ever commissioned by a Canadian business: the Bow Building, the headquarters-to-be of homegrown natural-gas titan EnCana Corp. The Bow Building will boast 58 storeys, almost two million square feet of office space, a price tag verging on a billion dollars and, come 2011, the tallest tower in Canada west of Toronto. "This will be the best of the best buildings in Calgary," says EnCana executive vice-president John Brannan, who was a leader on the project's early phases. His is actually one of the more measured superlatives the building has already inspired, well in advance of ground being broken (indeed, even before plans have been finalized). The high hopes extend beyond the building itself to the troubled downtown it aims to help transform.

The Bow's design is by Foster and Partners, the A-list international firm overseen by sustainable-architecture pioneer Sir Norman Foster, whose landmark buildings include the Swiss Re Building in London and the rejuvenated Reichstag in Berlin. The Bow is tricked out with a standard suite of Sir Norman's green features, from its efficient sub-floor air conditioning to its lattice-like "diagrid" skin (which reduces the use of structural steel, whose energy-intensive manufacture is anything but green). The building is configured as a wide-mawed horseshoe yawning to the southwest. The shape does much more than give the building an excuse to borrow its name from the river that rolls by a few blocks north. The bow-like contour also reduces wind resistance, maximizes the number of offices receiving natural light and allows for the building's most striking interior feature: a series of "sky gardens"—three atriums just behind that southwest-facing façade, each about 20 storeys high. Apart from providing informal meeting places, the atriums will work in tandem with state-of-the-art ventilation to serve as a critical buffer zone between the harsh prairie climate and the offices within. On cold days, the ample southern Alberta sun will warm the atriums, and on warm summer days the hot air will be expelled before reaching the building's core. The buffer zone's more temperate air can then be cycled through the offices themselves, reducing heating and cooling requirements.

All told, the Bow tower's light energy footprint is expected to save EnCana 30% on HQ operating costs. "That's a substantial amount of money," Brannan notes. "It's the environmentally correct thing to do, but it was also financially the correct thing to do." Which raises the question of how a fossil-fuel king came to commission a monument to ecological enlightenment in the first place.

The Bow originated with the most workaday of concerns: EnCana's staff was scattered throughout five buildings, and this in a city centre with a vacancy rate stuck under 1%. Some 58% of the entire country's downtown new office construction is happening in Calgary, but many of those buildings are fully leased long before they're finished. So the only way for EnCana to get everyone under one roof was to build.

As luck would have it, there was a sizable parcel of land available—two jointly held city blocks—just across Centre Street from the Petro-Canada towers. The south block was occupied mainly by a pair of decrepit prewar hotels, which, if salvaged and designated as Municipal Historic Resources, could earn the company the right from city hall to build higher on the north block—a main tower tall enough to host the entire Calgary staff. Already the project began to take on symbolic weight: There was no premium commercial space on this side of Centre, and nothing had ever been built anywhere in the city that approached the height EnCana was now able to consider. It would be tall enough, indeed, to overshadow the tallest spire of Petro-Canada's "Red Square," a delicious commentary on the power shift in the oil patch since the 1980s.

It wasn't a rhetorical flourish, however, that convinced EnCana to seek out innovative designs for its new home, but rather a thorny boom-town reality: Calgary's labour pool was as tight as its office space. Everyone paid well these days, so what else could a company do to attract and secure top talent? With that question in mind, the company began to entertain proposals for the design of its new headquarters. It also surveyed its staff to see what they'd like to see in their workplace. A picture emerged of something much grander than a stack of offices: an eco-friendly landmark, a destination, a downtown hub, "an energetic urban village."

The latter was the phrase used by EnCana CEO Randy Eresman in the October, 2006, announcement that Foster and Partners, easily the least business-as-usual firm on the short list, had won the commission. The contest wasn't even close—mainly because of details which, sustainability aside, promised to create the same sort of value that Google's solar panels have. With an eye toward passive-solar design, for example, Foster's plan calls for windows looking out on the atriums and the mountains beyond for as many as 95% of the offices. "I think for new engineers and junior employees, the fact that you've got a windowed office is a retention piece," Brannan says.

Employees won't be looking out just any pane of glass. They'll be able to regulate the temperature of their workplace by taking advantage of a cutting-edge trend in sustainable office design—they'll open the window.

Calgarians are a proud lot, boosterish even, but the city's architecture has never given them much to brag about. If they're being honest with themselves, they'll admit the city's only truly distinctive building is a hockey rink that's shaped like a cowboy's saddle. But the problem is bigger: For a city of its growing consequence, Calgary's downtown is just plain mediocre. The disjointed core of the city features a pedestrian mall (Stephen Avenue) that had some traffic returned to it a few years back because there wasn't enough evening strolling going on. The last major inner-city revitalization involved the construction of a riverside "market" (Eau Claire) that turned out to be more of a second-rate, underused shopping mall. And so, if you're one of those talented young engineers drawn to Calgary by the energy boom, it'll likely occur to you before long that the most distinctive physical feature of the landscape in which you spend eight hours or more every weekday is that second-floor labyrinth of enclosed bridges, retail concourses, food courts and mezzanines known as "the Plus-Fifteens." The Plus-Fifteen network snakes its way through the downtown core for 11 blocks east to west and 13 blocks north to south. It has become so central to the city's working life that even on a pleasant spring noon hour, after long months of forced hibernation, the cubicled masses head not for the sidewalks but for the artificially lit, climate-controlled pathways of the Plus-Fifteens.

No wonder, then, that EnCana's employees encouraged their management to create not just a building but an "urban village," to add public space and cultural amenities, and generally create a place that served some purpose beyond work. And no surprise, either, that the Bow has engendered such giddy excitement. There is a sense—almost palpable, like the heavy sky just before a chinook howls through to thaw a February deep-freeze—that Calgary needs the Bow. "This is a unique opportunity for this city to be redefined, not only in a local sense but in a national sense, in an international sense," says Bruce Graham, CEO of Calgary Economic Development, who served as a liaison between EnCana and city hall during the early planning on the Bow. "If people start talking about

'Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary,' as opposed to leaving it off at just Vancouver, that in itself is what we're achieving here."

It's hoped that the Bow will become the epicentre of a vibrant boulevard running from the base of the dowdy old Calgary Tower to the Bow River itself. And that it will link up the cultural district around Olympic Plaza with the commercial core farther west. And, why not, establish a beachhead for the revitalization of the city's troubled east end. A great deal of this expectation is built not upon the Bow itself but upon the wide public plaza planned for its base and the elaborate mid-rise complex to be built across the street, which will include the restoration of two derelict hotels—the St. Regis (1913) as a funky new boutique hotel and the York (1930) as a historic veneer fronting seven storeys of brand-new retail and cultural space, potentially to include the National Portrait Gallery.

As for the Bow itself, EnCana will occupy the entire tower, although it won't own it—it sold the project to H&R Real Estate Investment Trust shortly after unveiling the design, in exchange for a 25-year lease at bargain rates.

Sustainable design means more than energy efficiency and windows with hinges. It describes a built environment that merges with its natural landscape, an architecture that embraces (and enhances) its surroundings. And so, if the Bow complex is to fulfill its hype, it will do so at street level, where some of its most dramatic and potentially transformative design details reside. Well-ventilated rooms with world-class views will benefit EnCana employees alone, but the value proposition for pretty much everyone else starts on the sidewalk. Fittingly, then, that's where I met architect Jeremy Sturgess, who is serving as Foster's local partner responsible for urban design and master planning.

Sturgess had been toying with fantastical drawings of the two blocks of Centre Street between Fifth and Seventh Avenues for a couple of years before EnCana came along, so no one else in town sees things quite the way he does when he stands on the grimy corner of Centre and Sixth. That cracked asphalt parking lot? Think elegant public plaza. The boarded-up York with its intricate art-deco friezes? "I'm sure they're out of a catalogue," he quips. But still they're about the only art-deco friezes left in this young city, and they will be reassembled alongside a brand-new recessed arcade at street level that doubles the sidewalk's width to the dimensions preferred by enlightened urban designers. The seven-storey Bow annex the sidewalk will front has been meticulously designed in the same vein as Sir Norman's Great Court at the British Museum, to let tons of sunlight pass through to the plaza on the other side of the street. Sturgess points out that there'll be space up there on the roof for an al fresco café like the one at the Tate Modern, and is that really too far-fetched at this point?

Sturgess is 57, his goatee flecked with grey, but there is boyish excitement in his voice when he tries to sum up what the Bow has already meant. "Just having been a fly on the wall in the decision-making process since almost the start of this project has been—to say an opportunity of a lifetime or a career actually doesn't say enough, you know?" He tries to elaborate: "I don't think people really understand what they're getting yet."

Sturgess is a man who has been swimming upstream in Calgary's building trade far too long for us to dismiss his words as hyperbole. This, after all, is an architect who spent the first couple of decades in his career building singular postmodern homes—more than a hundred of them over the years—in a city littered with cookie-cutter McMansions. (Critic Adele Freedman called one of his homes from 1994 a "permanent protest piece.") More recently, Sturgess turned the crater left by the demolition of the Calgary General Hospital into an award-winning mixed-use neighbourhood, the Bridges. And he was the architect of record for perhaps the most pointed pre-Bow symbol of a city ready to reimagine itself: the resurrection of the stately Grand Theatre, which rose from the ashes of its incarnation as an indoor driving range to become, once again, the inner city's most elegant playhouse.

Sturgess notes that downtown Calgary has two invaluable resources going for it. The first is that it has a cohesive core, hemmed in by the Bow River to the north and the Canadian Pacific tracks to the south. The second—at least as important—is the work of a pair of tireless downtown alderwomen, Druh Farrell and Madeleine King, both first elected in 2001. In Sturgess's estimation, Farrell and King have stood Calgary's planning department on its head and brought "some serious intellectual thought" to city council.

The day I drop by Farrell's office to find out about the view of the Bow from city hall, she's just come from a five-hour debate, one instalment in the city's five-year battle to launch a curbside recycling program. She's as excited as anyone about the imminent arrival of Sir Norman's work upon the prairie, but no one spends that kind of time swimming upstream over recycling without emerging as a pragmatist. She readily concedes that there are business-as-usual slabs going up all over town under the authority of old permits; that it's hard to mobilize lasting political support in a boom/bust cycle in which who knows how many current residents don't see their address as anything like permanent; that it can be tough to nurture a verdant cityscape in a place where most of the old buildings were demolished years ago.

Still, Farrell insists that steering Calgary's growth is now a different game than the lazy old one that saw those lousy permits issued. Mammoth developments with 20-year build-outs, she notes, no longer zip through council in 15 minutes. There's an urban design review board, and a bold Centre City Plan nearing completion. New municipal buildings are now obliged to gain silver certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program (the most widely employed benchmark of sustainable architecture), and there's a wind farm nearing completion southeast of the city that will begin supplying public buildings with three-quarters of their electricity any day now. (Calgary's LRT system has been wind-powered for years.) And, barring unforeseen derailments, downtown office towers will soon draw their heat and power from a single state-of-the-art district energy plant, bringing at least a tinge of green to even the most retrograde of the city's glass-box monstrosities. For all of these reasons and others besides, Calgary earned an environmental award from the London-based World Leadership Forum in 2006. All of which, Farrell suggests, just might be the start of a sea change—"a wave," she calls it.

I hear similar optimism—cautious and unsentimental—from Brian Sinclair, dean of the University of Calgary's Faculty of Environmental Design, who organized the William McDonough lecture. If he'd been able to find a larger venue, he tells me, he could've easily sold twice as many tickets. "When that many people want to come and hear Bill McDonough talk about green buildings and living a different sort of way than we have for the last couple of centuries—that's really a good thing."

Sinclair returned to Calgary in 2003 after 15 years of what he called "self-imposed exile." He found some surprising new currents flowing through the once-staid capital of the oil patch. It wasn't just the boom —there was nothing new about a boom; Calgary was built on booms. No, it was a new sophistication, a growing awareness that a city, if it aspired to greatness, had to become more than the sum of its parts, and to do so it had to think about how it wanted to evolve. "I think the arrival of the Bow Building heralds a different kind of city," he says.

Scholars will argue that the difference between architecture and mere construction is symbolism. There is an intent, with architecture, to say something. In 2011, the most distinctive building on Calgary's skyline will be a sort of monument to the idea of sustainability, and it will hoist the corporate banner of an organization dedicated wholly to the unsustainable practice of mining nonrenewable resources and turning them, ultimately, into greenhouse-gas emissions. It might be simply a contradiction, but it could also be a signpost at a crossroads, acknowledging a past nearing its expiry date and pointing enthusiastically toward a necessary future. Will it be boom town, then, or sustainable city? The answer, of course, won't be determined by one office tower. But it might well start with one.

MESSAGE IN A BUILDING
What a great HQ says about the company it keeps

Toronto-Dominion Centre (1967) Toronto
Considered to be architect Mies van der Rohe's crowning achievement, the cluster of six, slate-black buildings are standouts on Bay Street. Many of the architect's personal touches are preserved, including the yellow flowers on service counters. When other banks relished their stony history, TD put its stake in a monolithic future.

Wal-Mart Home Office (1970) Bentonville, Arkansas
An unassuming box in an unassuming middle-American suburb. Even the words "home office" are in keeping with Sam Walton's down-home brand of capitalism. What does it say about Wal-Mart? That elevators and office ficus have little effect on lawnmower sales.

GM Renaissance Center (1977) Detroit
In the late '70s, the RenCen's seven interconnected spires towered over the Detroit skyline as a testament to the city's dominance in the auto sector. At 73 storeys, the Detroit Marriott (centre spire) remains the tallest all-hotel skyscraper in the western hemisphere, but GM's logo atop seems more a tribute to yesterday than tomorrow.

Bank of China (1990) Hong Kong
The I.M. Pei-designed Bank of China tower held the title of tallest skyscraper outside of the U.S. for less than four years. But height wasn't the point. The structure's exposed supports suggest bamboo shoots, which signify enterprise and growth.

U2 Tower (2008) Dublin, Ireland
The U2 Tower will rise 35 storeys over the River Liffey, making it the tallest building in Dublin. Its twisting shape was inspired by Sweden's famous Turning Torso skyscraper, but what does it say about U2? Perhaps that Bono needs an even higher perch from which to lecture world leaders. —David Fielding

[The Chemist]

That truly is a great article. What a great outline of the hopes riding on this one project. I don't think Calgarians really appreciate the magnitude or the effect of the project that EnCana is giving us.

[Geofferson]

i cant wait to watch the bow progress. and it looks like denver has some pretty nice looking high rises as well!

[aluminum]

Tallest building under construction in Canada... great design:notacrook: :notacrook:

[You Need A Thneed]

Definately piling (probobly for shoring) going on at the site today.

[aluminum]

Is construction of this building and development of this project merely because of Alberta Oil Boom ?

[You Need A Thneed]

Is construction of this building and development of this project merely because of Alberta Oil Boom ?

Certainly in part due to oil boom (Encana is a natural gas company), but also due to Encana's current office space space spread out over 5 different buildings downtown, and an extremely low office vacancy rate.

[Bokimon]

A good article to read. Gets you outsiders a good idea of what this building is all about and its potential to change the way this city is seen from the outside.

Good to see some progress underway on that site.

[mersar]

Also posted in the Calgary construction thread:
http://www.compscience.info/public/images/bow-june8-1.jpg
http://www.compscience.info/public/images/bow-june8-2.jpg
http://www.compscience.info/public/images/bow-june8-3.jpg
http://www.compscience.info/public/images/bow-june7-4.jpg

The last pic is of the York Hotel, which will be dismantled and the facade will be rebuilt onto the new cultural building. The green platform is a mechanical lift, which they are using in place of scaffolding to do the demolition work (they've been working inside for months, all the windows are sealed off from inside with black plastic)

[Boris2k7]

All pics courtesy of myself (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/member.php?u=9782)

June 8, 2007


http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/3131/bow01ce3.jpg

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/8528/bow02yt8.jpg

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/3041/bow03tt9.jpg

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/8692/bow04wb0.jpg

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/5307/bow05dr1.jpg

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http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/1052/bow07gb0.jpg

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/7351/bow08ku8.jpg

http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/7950/bow09qu4.jpg

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/7251/bow10nl8.jpg

http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/3100/legion01jn6.jpg


Some more work has been starting up in the last few days on the main site, including some more shoring and excavation. Nothing really major will happen there until July though, as full road closures will come into effect following the Calgary Stampede.

On the second site though, work on the York is proceeding and there are some more images showing that Scaffolding. No work has yet started on the Regis to the east.

I have included a picture of the Royal Canadian Legion branch no.1, though this is not technically part of the development which will wrap around it (it is a provincial historic site so it can't be touched).

Images from the Development Permit which show the ground level treatment on the second site:
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/7889/bowyork01th9.png

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/7964/bowyork02az7.png

[Bigtime]

June 12/07

The excavating has begun!

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/7681/picturewz2.jpg

Edit: The tents in the lower right part of the picture are for the "official groundbreaking" ceremony being held today.

[JBoston]

Beautiful atrium. This is a great addition to the Calgary skyline. Although I wonder if it has the potential to look a little bulky.

[mersar]

That was many peoples concern, until you compare it to PCC (on the next block to the west, and Calgary's current tallest). Both are virtually the same width, only difference is the Bow is curved, and PCC sits on an angle on its block. If you look at the widths from the outer most points though its pretty close.

I personally suspect it may look a bit bulky during the initial construction until it starts really adding height, but once its finished it shouldn't look that bad.

[Boris2k7]

All pics courtesy of myself (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/member.php?u=9782)

June 15, 2007


http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/567/bow01up5.jpg

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http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/102/bow14ls1.jpg

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/5505/bow15at9.jpg

[giallo]

Sweet. You got a junkie walking by in the second to last shot.

[Calgarian]

Are they planning on dismantling the entire building? if so, I wonder if they will use the same bricks or just use new ones of the same colour.

[DizzyEdge]

A lot of times when historic facades are dismantled they'll flip the bricks around when the reassemble so you get a 'like new' surface.

[Boris2k7]

Historic York Hotel's facade taken apart brick by brick
It will be incorporated into The Bow

Kim Guttormson, Calgary Herald
Published: Monday, June 18, 2007


http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/idl/cahr/20070618/196375-64548.jpg
http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/idl/cahr/20070618/196375-64550.jpg
http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/idl/cahr/20070618/196375-64590.jpg


The York Hotel will start disappearing this week -- the careful removal of every brick being the first step in preserving the building's facade.

As part of The Bow development, the 78-year-old hotel will become the cornerstone of a complex housing retail and cultural space on the south side of 6th Avenue S.E.

But first, specialized crews will dismantle what was billed as the city's first "modern hotel" so that a 20-metre pit can be dug for a parkade. Eventually, two of the hotel's exterior walls will be resurrected around a new structure.

"People may look and think, my God, we're destroying it," said David Jefferies, with Zeidler Partnership Architects, "but this is how we're saving it."

By 2011, the two blocks straddling the corners of 6th Avenue and Centre Street will be reinvented. The Bow -- a 58-storey, Norman Foster-designed office tower that will house EnCana's head office -- will dominate the north block.

A smaller, seven-storey complex will be built to the south. Heritage advocates are pleased the York is being incorporated into the plan, with its facade flowing into a more modern structure, giving the impression of two separate buildings side by side.

However, the York building isn't structurally sound, and the interior has been renovated so often it no longer has historic significance.
As well, the floors couldn't hold the weight that retail or cultural space will demand.

The York's real value, said city heritage planner Darryl Cariou, is its south and west facades and the concrete friezes that run in a strip near the base and along the roof, and those will all be saved.

"The primary heritage of the buildings are in the facades and friezes, and those are certainly being preserved. It's one of very few examples of this style of building, the art deco flavour to it," he said.

The other two walls are made of a different, cheaper brick and don't have friezes, because they originally stood alongside another building and faced the back lane.

The York is also important because it anchors a block of heritage buildings along 7th Avenue S., including the Legion, built in 1922, and the 1913 St. Regis Hotel.

Jefferies said it's also important to preserve the York because of its history -- it housed CFCN radio in its heyday.

Preserving the building presents some unique challenges, in part because of the materials of which it's made. The bricks, for example, are soft, constructed from lime mortar. And, Jefferies said, many are water damaged, making it likely some won't survive the move.

Each brick will be removed, its condition analyzed and then stored on pallets that indicate which part of the wall they came from.

The plan is to have new bricks built from the same type of clay, even though the original quarry is no longer in operation, and then use both in the new walls.

"It's like a giant 3-D puzzle," Richard Tucker, vice-president of development for Matthews Southwest, said of putting the pieces back together.

The colourful concrete friezes present another problem. While a typical frieze is a piece of carved art attached to the building, these are actually part of the building.

Jefferies said that when the York was built in 1929, as they were pouring the concrete for the roof, they also poured it into moulds for the design across the top of the building. So far, he's only confirmed two other buildings in North America using that method to create a frieze -- a theatre in Los Angeles and one in Denver. It is fitting, Jefferies said, because the man who designed the friezes worked for a Hollywood film studio as a graphic artist.

The method used means the friezes -- with their fiddleheads and fronds and cogs that Jefferies thinks are film reels -- can't just be detached. Crews will now saw them off, trying to cut along existing cracks.

Jefferies said there is a chance the friezes won't survive removal attempts. So rubber moulds are being taken as a precaution against catastrophe, allowing the design to be exactly duplicated if need be.

Detailed evidence documenting the building's appearance -- including a laser survey and photos -- has been compiled so it can be recreated. However, one thing will change. There will be an arcade, similar to the Bay's at street level, so there is better pedestrian access to the building.
Paint chips have been analyzed to determine the original colour of the friezes -- paler than the hues now in use, Jefferies said.

"Many people say 'why are you saving the York?' " said the architect, who spent months researching the building's history. "The hidden history and unforeseen uniqueness is what makes it really worth it."

The city's Cariou said that while the York is less than 80 years old, it doesn't mean it's not historic. "This is our history. If we don't keep it, it will never be really old."

kguttormson@theherald.canwest.com

[Calgarian]

Well that answers my question, lol

[mersar]

A close up of the initial steps of dismantling the York:

Making a cast of the original friezes:
http://www.compscience.info/public/images/yorkhotel-june19-1.jpg

[Wooster]

Really Cool images from a powerpoint presentation on the Zeidler site about the construction process of The Bow. :tup:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/joshwhit/development/bow1-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/joshwhit/development/bow2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/joshwhit/development/bow3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/joshwhit/development/bow4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/joshwhit/development/bow5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/joshwhit/development/bow6.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/joshwhit/development/bow7.jpg

[Rise To The Top]

This one looks beautiful! I didnt know that Canada had such a nice project underway!

[korzym]

I can't find another thread in the high rise construction section that has better photo updates!

[Calgarian]

Thanks for that Josh, I am going to enjoy watching this one immensely.

[Calgarian]

This one looks beautiful! I didnt know that Canada had such a nice project underway!

This one is definitely the nicest IMO

[Calgarian]

I can't find another thread in the high rise construction section that has better photo updates!

just wait, you ain't seen nothin yet.

[Boris2k7]

All pics courtesy of myself (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/member.php?u=9782)

June 25, 2007


We have diggin' and we are diggin' it. :cool:

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/1757/bw01oa8.jpg

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http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/2388/bw07pp7.jpg

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/8086/bw08zm4.jpg

[Boris2k7]

July 03, 2007


Bricks are starting to be removed from the facade of the York Hotel
Facade of York Hotel is marked by numbers such as W3-38, W5-24, etc... which are sections for when they restore the facade in the new building
Digging has spread throughout the main site, and is about a storey down in both the centre and southwest corner


Sorry, no pics this time. Camera battery ran out.

[Boris2k7]

Okay, got pictures today showing the details I mentioned yesterday (see post above)


All pics courtesy of myself (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/member.php?u=9782)

July 04, 2007


http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/4683/bo01iz6.jpg

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/3326/bo02bp7.jpg

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/104/bo03gd4.jpg

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/8051/bo04au8.jpg

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/3328/bo05mh9.jpg

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/6170/bo06zq6.jpg

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/8854/bo07nb7.jpg

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/5551/bo08vt3.jpg

http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/1230/bo09lu2.jpg

[Calgarian]

Looks like they've already done quite a bit of work getting this one ready, come next Monday, it will be work 24-7 for 3 years!

[dmc]

I've been a harsh critic of the hulking aesthetic of this building but I have to say those detailed renderings of the street elevations and cultural building are fantastic

[Boris2k7]

All pics courtesy of myself (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/member.php?u=9782)

July 10, 2007


http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/795/bow01ba5.jpg

http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/8094/bow02vb1.jpg

http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/449/bow03bu1.jpg

http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/7623/bow04he3.jpg

http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/5918/bow05wc7.jpg

http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/4650/bow06oh9.jpg


As johnnyc noted above, the real fun begins next monday.

[Calgarian]

^ So much for that idea, looks like it could be a couple more weeks.

[Boris2k7]

^ So much for that idea, looks like it could be a couple more weeks.

Yeah that sucks. For anyone who isn't in the know, the city hasn't released the development permit yet, so a full building permit won't be available until city-specified conditions are met. Fair enough, except that the developer still only has until Stampede next year, regardless of if they start late.

[Boris2k7]

All pics courtesy of myself (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/member.php?u=9782)

July 17, 2007


READY, SET....

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/4717/bow01ns5.jpg

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/3757/bow02vo4.jpg

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/438/bow03jq3.jpg

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/3903/bow04rk6.jpg

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/3051/bow05hh9.jpg

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/852/bow06wo0.jpg

[Calgarian]

Any word on the 6th Ave closure yet?

[The Chemist]

Any word on the 6th Ave closure yet?

It looks like the city was getting ready for it this past weekend. They were putting up new traffic lights at the intersection of Centre and 5th on Sunday. I'd imagine the closure is imminent. :) And given the pace that work seems to be going on this project, I'd say they'll be finished the work they need to be finished by next year's Stampede.

[Calgarian]

I don't know, that's a lot of work to do in 11 months, and with the labour crunch here, I think it will go past the deadline.

[jbettcher]

I don't know, that's a lot of work to do in 11 months, and with the labour crunch here, I think it will go past the deadline.

Don't rule anything out, I'm a construction worker (not working on anything commercial yet) but from experience if you have the money to hire the right people things go far quicker. It all depends on who the contractor has lined up to do the work. When you have a budget of $1.2 billion you probably hired the best of the best.

[1ajs]

I don't know, that's a lot of work to do in 11 months, and with the labour crunch here, I think it will go past the deadline.
aww the empire state building only took a year and 45 days to build........

[Calgarian]

aww the empire state building only took a year and 45 days to build........

That's because it was built during the great depression, a time when materials and labour were dirt cheap. Also did the Empire State building have 1500 u/g parking stalls in 6 levels underneath 2 entire city blocks and a street? once the bow is above ground, it will go really fast.

[The Chemist]

I don't know, that's a lot of work to do in 11 months, and with the labour crunch here, I think it will go past the deadline.

They're digging that hole awfully fast, so I don't see why they won't make it. Remember, they won't be finished the parkade before 6th reopens - they'll still be working below ground.

[Calgarian]

I hope you're right. The city should stop dicking around and let them get to work.

[1ajs]

They're digging that hole awfully fast, so I don't see why they won't make it. Remember, they won't be finished the parkade before 6th reopens - they'll still be working below ground.
6th will be like that street at ground zero..........

[mersar]

Stopped by tonight and the CPS lot has been relocated and there is a nice pit now to the east of the York. About 3 floors of brick have been removed from the west wall as well now.

I do agree that the city needs to get their act moving a bit faster and get this released soon otherwise it may start to push it. The Zeidler drawings indicated that the temporary bridge should be in place by June however we don't know what date they had anticipated being under 6th by when they did those.

[Boris2k7]

All pics courtesy of myself (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/member.php?u=9782)

July 26, 2007


http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/3435/bw01fb5.jpg

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/5541/bw02st2.jpg

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9894/bw03as4.jpg

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9209/bw04qd0.jpg

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/6721/bw05rv9.jpg

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/3217/bw06dd0.jpg

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/6310/bw07ry6.jpg

[Boris2k7]

July 26, 2007, by Big-Bird (SSC)

Posted on SSC by Big-Bird. A great angle of The Bow construction site.
http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/2923/3479091ldw1vwzswwosdy7xzf8.jpg

[Boris2k7]

All pics courtesy of myself (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/member.php?u=9782)

August 04, 2007


Most of the progress has been on the south site in the last week. Apparently the builder recieved a stop-work order from the City until they get some issues cleared up, so the main site hasn't changed much...

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/7333/bo01gf8.jpg

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/1231/bo02xi5.jpg

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/2499/bo03mv6.jpg

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/9207/bo04kz6.jpg

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/2074/bo05eq0.jpg

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/1666/bo06vf6.jpg

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/7002/bo07pa6.jpg

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/2505/bo08az0.jpg

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/2958/bo09pq1.jpg

[borgo100]

August 08, 2007

Most of the progress has been on the south site in the last week. Apparently the builder recieved a stop-work order from the City until they get some issues cleared up, so the main site hasn't changed much...

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/7333/bo01gf8.jpg
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/1231/bo02xi5.jpg
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/2499/bo03mv6.jpg
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/9207/bo04kz6.jpg
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/2074/bo05eq0.jpg
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/1666/bo06vf6.jpg
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/7002/bo07pa6.jpg
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/2505/bo08az0.jpg
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/2958/bo09pq1.jpg

is'nt today the 5th not the 8th?

[Boris2k7]

I'm tired lol, and they should read "the 4th" (still 1 minute to go till the 5th here)

There, edited.

[Calgarian]

Looks like the York is coming down down quickly. Hopefully the city will stop dicking around and let them dig up 6th soon, they have a lot of work to do to get it open again in 11 months.

[A-town]

The interior of this building reminds me of that building in i'robot with the tall atriums, gardens, and glass.

[1ajs]

updates???

[mersar]

Not much has happened, just slowly digging out the main site and removing brick from the York. The issues with delay of closing 6th have hit the media, so hopefully we will see a closure in the next two weeks as has been reported. The developer is saying that even with the delay they can get the road reopened in time since they changed the type of bridge structure that 6th have built over the parkade.

[Boris2k7]

All pics courtesy of myself (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/member.php?u=9782)

August 11, 2007


http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/3459/bo01mw3.jpg

http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/9091/bo02qy6.jpg

http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/3272/bo03eb6.jpg

http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/1870/bo04hk7.jpg

http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/8282/bo05aj9.jpg

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/9489/bo06aj5.jpg

http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/8506/bo07ik5.jpg

http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/5767/bo08tj8.jpg

[Boris2k7]

The road closure is finally coming!

Date: Fri Aug 17 09:47:59 2007
Subject: 6th Avenue Announcement
From: Citynewsroom

-----------------------------------------------------------------
CITYBEAT - CITY OF CALGARY PRESS RELEASE
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Calgary, August 17, 2007 – Media are invited to attend a news
conference related to plans for the 6 Avenue S.E. temporary
closure at the Traffic Management Centre (2808 Spiller Road
S.E.) at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, August 17, 2007.

-30-

Public Email Contact:

3-1-1contactus@calgary.ca

[Boris2k7]

Confirmation of that road closure in the newspaper (not that the city website isn't trustworthy):

Sixth Avenue to close Tuesday for EnCana construction
Colette Derworiz, Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, August 17, 2007

Drivers who use 6th Avenue S.E. will have to find a new route to work starting Tuesday as the busy downtown street closes for nearly a year to build the city's tallest office tower.

The block of 6th Avenue between 1st Street S.E and Centre Street S. will be shut down for about 11 months to build a six-storey underground parkade as part of the Bow office tower, which will house EnCana Corp.

It was scheduled to close in July, but had been delayed due to tie ups with the city's planning department.

Further details will be revealed at a press conference at 1:30 today.

While some aldermen were concerned the delay will lead to problems at the end of construction, the developer has said they should still be able to complete all of the work by next July -- in time for the Stampede parade, which uses the street.

The Bow office tower is part of a two-building development that will sit on either side of 6th Avenue. It is expected to be finished in 2011, and will be the tallest building west of Toronto.

==========================================================

Can we please, PLEASE find some non-morons for our news? It is the tallest building IN CANADA, OUTSIDE OF TORONTO.

Yeesh, how hard is this to get right?

[mersar]

Yep, looks like full steam ahead now.

The pit itself has just about been excavated flat (except the ramp) over the entire pit, the entire east section of the shoring they've done so far is visible just about fully from one side of the block to the other. And I passed an empty flatbed semi that belongs to the company thats doing the excavation work heading west on 6th avenue just past the site tonight, so they may have started moving additional equipment in now that they actually know when the major work is going to get underway.

[Wooster]

Now the party really begins. This thing will really start to fly. According to the construction schedule, there will already be the steel structure in place for the first 24 floors by this time next year. It will be a site to see.

[evolv]

Now the party really begins. This thing will really start to fly. According to the construction schedule, there will already be the steel structure in place for the first 24 floors by this time next year. It will be a site to see.

is this construction schedule public? Where would I find a copy?

[Calgarian]

So is there any action on 6th Ave today?

[Wooster]

Lots. Only hours after the closure, they'd already ripped up a good portion of 6th. Not wasting any time. It'd be nice to have some pics. :cool:

[mersar]

Pics will be coming soon. I'm heading downtown after work with my camera.