Located on an extremely challenging and small site, this 18-storey office building designed as part of a four-tower complex around the Calgary Tower exemplifies innovative downtown tower design. The site situated at the corner of Macleod Trail South and 10th Avenue sits beside the CPR rail corridor and is adjacent to an existing parkade structure that extends over top of the CPR rail lines. GGA’s design solution for this small site was to design a tower that extends over the existing parkade. The resulting design artfully creates active storefront commercial space at grade underneath the existing parkade, maintains access and loading to the Palliser Square complex, enhances the plus 30 bridge link over the CPR lines and creates an engaging improved interface with the pedestrian walkway on Macleod Trail underneath the CPR tracks. This building, built in 2009, was and still is a benchmark for building and urban design solutions on constrained sites and improvements in pedestrian realm design along the challenged CPR underpasses.
