The Bow (skyscraper)

Infobox Skyscraper
building_name = The Bow


caption = Artist's impression
year_highest =
year_end =
plural =
location = flag|Calgary
AB
CAN
coordinates = coord|51|02|52|N|114|03|44|W|scale:1500
status =
groundbreaking = June 13 2007
constructed =
est_completion = 2011
opening =
destroyed =
use=Office
antenna_spire =
roof = m to ft|236|abbr=yes
top_floor =
floor_count = 58 floors
53 office floors
2 retail floors
4 mechanical floors
3 sky gardens
elevator_count =
cost =
floor_area =
architect = Foster and Partners
engineer =
contractor = Ledcor
developer = Matthews Southwest
owner = H&R Real Estate Investment Trust

The Bow is a 158,000 square meter (1.7-million-sq.-ft.) office building currently under construction for the headquarters of EnCana Corporation. The skyscraper will be built in downtown Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The building will be the tallest office tower in Canada outside of Toronto. [cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2006/10/12/encana-office.html|title=EnCana unveils plans for downtown Calgary office tower|author=CBC Article | authorlink= Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |month= October | year= 2006 |accessdate=2006-01-06] The tower is also considered the start of redevelopment in Downtown East Village. [Cite web| url= http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=2f52e71a-9cf2-44f8-89ac-fdf43669c26a | title= Calgary's future skyline unveiled | author= Calgary Herald| authorlink= Calgary Herald| month= October| year= 2006| accessdate= 2007-05-30]

History

Early project

The proposed highrise was announced in 2006 by EnCana Corporation, North America's second largest natural gas producer. Early designs suggested that the project would consist of a complex of towers (perhaps two or more) over two blocks. The tallest of these towers could be 60-stories tall, which would make it taller than the current tallest tower in Western Canada, the Petro-Canada Centre (also in Calgary). Conflicting reports suggested that it would be one single tower around 70 stories tall and possibly over ft to m|1000|precision=0, making it the tallest building in Canada. Other sources suggested a two tower complex spanning the entire surface of two blocks, with a second tower of 40 to 50 storeys connected at 6th storey level over 6th Avenue. [Cite web| url= http://www.businessedge.ca/article.cfm/newsID/11325.cfm | author= Businessedge magazine | title= Project could loom over Calgary skyline | month= November| year= 2005 | accessdate=2007-02-15] Official statements declare that the tower will be 59 stories, or m to ft|247|precision=0 tall.

The management company in charge of the project is Texas-based Matthews Southwest, with architectural services being furnished by UK-based Foster and Partners & Zeidler Partnership Architects of Calgary. [Cite web| url=http://www.encana.com/aboutus/locations/canada/newofficeproject/P1162418685696.html | author= EnCana | authorlink= EnCana Corporation| title= Architects selected for EnCana's new office complex | month= December | year= 2005 |accessdate=2007-02-15]

The Bow announced

The project filed for development permit application is called The Bow, for its crescent shape and the view of the Bow River. [Cite web| url= http://www.encana.com/investors/newsreleases/P1161122658737.html | title=EnCana unveils The Bow - Calgary's newest tower | author= EnCana | authorlink= EnCana Corporation| month= October | year= 2006 | accessdate= 2007-02-15] [Cite web| url= http://www.encana.com/wcm/groups/internet/@p_www/documents/web_content/p002741.pdf | title= Foster + Partners reveals designs for a new EnCana headquarters building – The Bow - in Calgary | author= EnCana | authorlink= EnCana Corporation| month= October | year= 2006 | accessdate= 2007-02-15] On October 12, 2006, Foster and Partners revealed the first designs for the new tower. [Cite web| url= http://www.fosterandpartners.com/News/257/Default.aspx | author= Foster and Partners | authorlink= Foster and Partners | title= designs for new EnCana HQ in Calgary | month= October | year= 2006| accessdate=2007-02-15 ]

The project will eventually house all of EnCana's 3,300 Calgary-based employees, presently located at five different sites throughout the downtown core. With an estimated convert|1700000|sqft|m2 of total office space, the complex is expected to be the city's largest. The towers will be Canada's tallest-built since Toronto's BCE Place, completed as Canada Trust Tower in 1990. Construction costs are estimated to reach C$1 billion. Construction started in June 2007, and is expected to be completed by 2010. [Cite web| url= http://ctv2.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061012.wencana12/business/Business/businessBN/ctv-business | author= CTV news |authorlink= CTV television network | title= EnCana's $1-billion tower to be the tallest in Calgary| accessdate=2007-02-15] The tower was lowered down to 236 m due to shadowing concerns. When the tower is completed it will become the 149th tallest building in the world.

On February 9, 2007, EnCana sold The Bow office project assets to H&R Real Estate Investment Trust for C$70 million, [Citeweb | url= http://www.encana.com/investors/newsreleases/P1170891602009.html | title= EnCana advances The Bow office project | author= EnCana | authorlink= EnCana Corporation | month=February | year= 2007 | accessdate= 2007-02-15] while signing a 25-year tenant lease agreement that would start after the project's completion in 2011.

In late June 2007, the company announced that the Portrait Gallery of Canada would not be moving from Ottawa into the Bow. [ [http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2007/06/29/portrait-encana.html CBC.ca Arts - National gallery not coming to Calgary building: EnCana ] ]

Construction

Groundbreaking took place on June 13, 2007, with work starting on both sides of 6th Avenue S between Centre Street and 1st Street E.Cite web| url= http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/local/story.html?id=dc9b3fc6-f5af-431b-a0d6-3df5233f410e&k=81457 | title= EnCana Tower Construction Underway | author= Calgary Herald | authorlink= Calgary Herald | month=June | year= 2007| accessdate= 2007-06-14] Sixth Avenue is being excavated, after closure of the block (August 21st, 2007)Cite web| url=http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=33398f90-46d8-47bd-acd8-91b99ff3bd83&k=45541 | title= Dreaded downtown closure begins | author= Calgary Herald | authorlink= Calgary Herald | month=August | year= 2007| accessdate= 2007-08-21] and the six level underground parkade will be constructed on a two block area, on both north and south side of 6th Avenue.

A neighboring historic building - The York Hotel, that was built from 1929 through 1930 using the Edwardian Commercial Architectural style was demolished to make room for the new building. Because of the historical significance of the York Hotel it was important to save as much as reasonable to incorporate into the new building "The Bow". Between 70 to 80 per cent of the bricks have been saved and will be used to reconstruct two of the hotel’s exterior walls. The brown brick originally supplied by Clayburn Brick in Abbotsford and the cast-in-concrete friezes have been removed, numbered and graphed to show the original location the brick and friezes will be put on the new building in the original locations. The remainder of the building was demolished ahead of schedule by Calgary based demolition and environmental contactor Hazco. A large crane was used to lift an excavator on to the roof of the York and it was used to demolish the building floor by floor.

The concrete foundation was continuously poured over 36 hours on May 11 and 12, 2008, being the largest of its kind in Canada, and third largest in the world after the Howard Hughes Center in Los Angeles and the Sama Tower (Al Durrah Tower) in Dubai. [Cite web|url=http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=e8037831-d126-4742-891d-c21be53c9219|title=Concrete pour smashes record|author= Calgary Herald|authorlink= Calgary Herald|year=2008|month=May|day=11|accessdate=2008-05-13] Some m3 to ft3|14000|abbr=yes|precision=0 of concrete filled the m2 to ft2|2787|abbr=yes|precision=0 foundation.

Public Art

Encana officially confirmed on June 16, 2008 that Jaume Plensa, an artist most famous for the Crown Fountain in Chicago, has been chosen to complete two major public art installations for the project [Cite web| url=http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Platt_Michael/2008/06/16/5890296-sun.php |title= EnCana deal will put Calgary on world art map |author=Calgary Sun|accessdate = 2008-16-06] . Designs of the artwork will be unveiled later in 2008.

Building details

*Height: 236 m (774 ft) [Cite web| url= http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=streetbow-calgary-canada | title= The Bow, Calgary| author= Emporis | authorlink= Emporis | accessdate= 2007-05-12]
*58 stories
**2 retail floors - 18,580 m² (200,000 ft²)
**3 floors - sky gardens, spaced approximately every 18 floors (sky lobbies), served by express elevators
**53 office floors - 157,930 m² (1.7 million ft²)
**4 mechanical floors
*Footprint: 17,651 m² (190,000 ft²)
*Parking: 1,400 parking stalls (6 level parkade, spanning two blocks on both sides of 6th Avenue)
*+15 skywalk connections to neighbouring buildings (Telus building, Petro-Canada Centre, Hyatt Regency Calgary):"Source: Encana Corporation" [Cite web| url= http://www.encana.com/pdfs/media/building/factsheet.pdf | author= EnCana | authorlink= EnCana Corporation | title= The Bow fact sheet| accessdate=2006-10-15]

ee also

*List of tallest buildings in Calgary

References

Geographic Location (8-way)
Centre = The Bow
North = Telus Tower
Northeast =
East = Calgary Board of Education
Southeast = Calgary Police Service Andrew Davison Building
South = Hyatt Regency
Southwest =
West = Petro-Canada Centre
Northwest =

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