EPCOR OFFICE TOWER

EPCOR OFFICE TOWER

In developing our strategy for this downtown competition-winning contemporary office building, we devised a “courtyard” scheme that integrates two existing structures on the site: the 31-storey Bell Tower and a two-storey fitness centre, while providing the city of Edmonton with much-needed outdoor public space.

The design involved extending the two-storey fitness centre north, running it parallel to 102 Street and re-defining the site’s western edge. Further, we unified the addition to the fitness centre by cladding it in black zinc and adding a combination of retail space and loading docks to the street below. Additionally we created a second floor daycare facility complete with its own outdoor landscaped courtyard for safe toddler play, along with new conference and fitness facilities specific to EPCOR’s needs.

The rectilinear floor plate of the new 26-storey office tower was placed above this two-storey black zinc horizontal form (fitness centre, retail space and loading docks) and rotated 90°, so as to define the city block’s northern boundary, parallel to 104 Avenue.

The completed architectural design – a classic “courtyard” scheme – allows for a diversity of outdoor uses at street level, with two commercial towers (EPCOR and Bell) anchoring the northern and southern boundaries of this city block.

To distinguish EPCOR as the prime tenant of this office building from the leased office spaces, we gave EPCOR’s facade a zigzag profile, which was abstracted from the texture of a tree. Conceptually, this texture results in EPCOR’s space forming the “crown” of the tree and the general office space below forming the “trunk.”

Solar control (heat gain) for EPCOR was achieved by placing horizontal maple wood battens between the double glazing of the curtain wall, radically reducing sun penetration into their office space. This special glass, located only at EPCOR floors and the lobby, creates a wonderful sensory effect, reminiscent of the dappled sunlight one experiences while walking through a forest, thus extending the tree metaphor of the office tower onto the building’s glass skin.

LOCATION: Edmonton, Alberta

ARCHITECT: Cohos Evamy Architects
(now Dialog Architects)

DESIGN LEADERSHIP: Michael Poitras,
Consultant-in-Charge of Design (Cohos Evamy)

DESIGN COMPETITION: First place

CLIENT: EPCOR Utilities Inc.

STATISTICS:

  • No. of storeys: 26
  • Total floor area (above grade):
    477,655 ft2 (44,375 m2)
  • Total floor area (below grade):
    274,160 ft2 (25,470 m2)
  • Below grade parking: 452 stalls
    (including 12 barrier-free)
  • Below grade bicycle parking: 46 stalls

MATERIALS:

  • Silver curtain wall windows & doors + horizontal maple wood battens set between the glass
  • Black zinc
  • Honed & bead blasted limestone
  • Flamed black granite floors (lobby)
  • Flamed black granite pavers (exterior)
  • Outdoor landscaping

GENERAL PROGRAM:

  • Office
  • Retail
  • Daycare
  • Fitness centre
  • Bicycle change rooms with showers
  • Connects to Edmonton’s “Pedway” system
  • Outdoor public space
  • Loading docks: 6 large + 2 small

LEED: Silver

COST: Withheld

COMPLETION: Project