BROOKFIELD PLACE

General Description
Brookfield Place is a commercial development
located between 1st and 2nd Streets and 6th and
7th Avenues SW in downtown Calgary, Alberta,
Canada. The development consists of a 1.4 million
square feet, 56-storey tower which is 247 meters
tall, making it Calgary's tallest building.

Brookfield Place is one of North America's truly

great people places. This landmark is located in the
heart of the financial district, and is home to the
world's most prestigious financial, commercial and
legal firms, as well as the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Brookfield Place is green building certified with a
Gold level of certification in the Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®)
Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance
program.
Bounded by Bay, Wellington, Yonge and Front
Streets, the 5 1/2 acre, 2.6 million square foot
complex combine’s two architecturally stunning
office towers with Toronto's oldest intact
streetscape, including the award-winning Allen
Lambert Galleria - a six storey pedestrian
thoroughfare resplendent in light and glass.
Connected to the underground PATH System,
Brookfield Place is steps away from major hotels,
retail and entertainment centres including Air
Canada Centre.

The building was designed by London and

Toronto-based architecture firm Arney Fender
Katsalidis. The delivery architect was Calgary
based Dialog.

The development is constructed to LEED Gold

standard for Core and Shell. Commuters have
direct access to the Plus 15 skywalk system and the
CTrain LRT system on 7th Avenue.

Design Architect Bregman + Hamann Architects

General Contractor PCL Constructors Eastern Inc.
 Mechanical Engineer The Mitchell Partnership (TMP)
Electrical Engineer Mulvey & Banani
Structural Engineer M.S. Yolles & Partners Limited
Completion Date TD Canada Trust Tower Fall 1990
Bay Wellington Tower March 1992
Total Project May 1992
Building Height TD Canada Trust Tower, 51 storeys
Bay Wellington Tower, 47 storeys
Design Load 100 pounds per square foot live load including
partition load
Rentable Area Office 2,418,461 square feet
Ground level 65,000 square feet
Concourse level 52,000 square feet
Typical Floor Area Bay Wellington Tower - 26,000 rentable square feet
Ceiling Heights Slab-to-slab heights on office floors average 13’0”
Standard floor to ceiling height is 9’0’’
Mullion Spacing 3.5 feet
Interior Column Spacing Column free.
HEATING, VENTILATION AND AIR The Building Automation and Energy Management
CONDITIONING System is a Direct Digital Control (DDC) system that
monitors and operates > 5000 variable air volume
(VAV) boxes and utilizes over 40,000 software points.
Design Criteria The building's HVAC systems are designed to meet or
exceed 1990 Building Code requirements. Design
conditions are based upon occupancy of not more
than one person per 200 usable square feet.
Heat Heat is supplied by six (6) natural gas fired water
tube boilers.
Air Conditioning Cooling is provided by 8 centrifugal chillers totaling
8,780 tons and Deep Lake Water Cooling through
Enwave.
Supplemental cooling is available 24 hours a day
through a dedicated tenant condenser system.
Standard Hours of HVAC Operation 7:30 AM to 6:30 PM, Monday through Friday
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Saturday.
ELECTRICITY
General Building-standard power consists of 2.0 watts per
square foot lighting, 2.0 watts per square foot plug
load, 2.0 watts per square foot spare.
Electric Closet Bay Wellington Tower – 2 per floor.
Telephone Closet Bay Wellington Tower – 2 per floor.
PASSENGER ELEVATORS
Number of Elevators Full BWT – 28 Passenger, 9 Shuttles, 4 Service & 4
Escalators.
Elevator Capacity 3,500 pounds per cab, depending on elevator bank
Elevator Speed Capacity to travel up to 1,200 FPM (feet per minute),
depending on bank
SERVICE ELEVATORS
Number of Elevators Two main service elevators in each tower servicing
loading dock to penthouse mechanical.
Elevator Capacity Full BWT = 4500 lbs.
Elevator Size Full BWT = 8'L x 7'W x 14'H inside elevator
BUILDING AMENITIES  Banking Facilities
 Bicycle Racks & Lockers
 Cable Television
 Captivate Elevator Display Screens for Internet
Information & Advertising
  Child Care Facility
 Courtesy Battery Boost
 Courtesy Phones

BUILDING AMENITIES  Digital Media Screen Advertising

GREEN  Executive Shower Facility
AMENITIES  Free WiFi – Concourse Level
 In-house Car Wash & Detailing
 Internal Courier Service
 Locksmith
 Online Concierge
 Restaurants, Shops and Food Court
 Security Services
 Shredding Services
 Signage & Business Directory Listing
 Storage Facilities
 Surrounding Theatres, Convention Centre, Rogers
Centre, Air Canada Centre, the Sony Centre and the
Harbourfront area.
 Tenant Fire Safety Team
 Underground Parking Facility with a 1,420 space
enclosed parking garage
 Window Cleaning, Vacuum and Interior Cleaning
stations
 Annual Earth Hour participant
 Annually report to Global Real Estate Sustainability
Benchmark (GRESB) survey
 Annually reports emissions to the Carbon Disclosure
Project
 Contributes to LEED® CI Certification in Tenant
spaces
 Ecozone in parking garage (preferred parking for
hybrid vehicles, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations)
 FSC Certified paper products
 Membership in Clean Building Association
 Recycling Council of Ontario 2012 Gold in
Marketing & Communications and in Facilities
 Safe Flight Migratory Bird protection program
 Smart Commute Program: secure bike storage,
online carpool zone, bicycle clinics and Tenant events
 Tenant Energy Portal to provide electricity
consumption data to Tenants
 Waste diversion rate of 81%

Figures

Height: Architectural 247 m / 810 ft

Height: To Tip 247 m / 810 ft
Floors Above Ground 56
Floors Below Ground 7
Tower GFA 223,000 m² / 2,400,352 ft²
# of Parking Spaces 1,100

Facts

Official Name Brookfield Place Tower One

Name of Complex Brookfield Place Calgary
Other Names 225 Sixth Tower One
Structure Type Building
Status Completed
Country Canada
City Calgary
Street Address & Map 225 6th Avenue
Building Function office
composite

 Core: Reinforced Concrete

Structural Material
 Columns: Steel
 Floor Spanning: Steel

Energy Label LEED Gold BD+C: Core and Shell

Proposed 2012
Construction Start 2013
Completion 2017
Global Ranking #470 Tallest in the World
Regional Ranking #74 Tallest in North America
National Ranking #8 Tallest in Canada
City Ranking #1 Tallest in Calgary

Companies Involved
Developer Brookfield Properties
Architect
• Design DIALOG; Arney Fender Katsalidis
Structural Engineer
• Design Entuitive
MEP Engineer
• Design Mulvey & Banani; The Mitchell Partnership, Inc.
Main Contractor EllisDon Construction Services Inc.
Other Consultant
• Façade Front Inc.
Material Supplier
• Steel ArcelorMittal; Walters Group Inc.
 
Engineering Detail of Brookfield Place Calgary

1. ITS CURVED CORNER GLASS PANELS ARE THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN
CALGARY

Unlike most buildings with curved corners, sections of the Brookfield Place Calgary glass are
curved in two directions. The glazing is curved in one direction around each corner of the
building, and at the perimeter of the top level the glass curves up and overtop the crown. This
means that there are a few pieces of glass that are quite special – curved in two directions at
once! This takes a complex bending process to create. Double-curved glass has been used in
projects in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere, but this type of glazing shape is a first for Calgary.

2. THE FIVE-STOREY BASEMENT TOOK FIVE MONTHS TO EXCAVATE

Crews demolished sections of underground parking nearby to accommodate the tower’s

footprint and five-storey basement, a hole that took five months to excavate.

3. IT TOOK 10,000 TONNES OF STEEL TO CONSTRUCT THE BUILDING

In addition to a central reinforced concrete core, it took 10,000 tonnes (20,000 pieces) of
steel, 85,000 bolts and a total of 120 human years of effort, to fabricate and erect the steel.

4. A PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY SYSTEM IS INTEGRATED IN THE BUILDING

DESIGN

Calgary’s elevated pedestrian walkway system, Skywalk, is integrated into Brookfield Place
Calgary’s design. The development connects with neighbouring buildings via Calgary’s +15
pedestrian walkway. The path connects the tower to the surrounding buildings as well as the
Calgary Light Rail Transit system.
5. A SPECIAL KIND OF CONCRETE WAS REQUIRED TO MEET THE
CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE

For the construction of Brookfield Place Calgary a highly flowable and non-segregating
concrete mix was required to achieve a pumping height of 247 metres (810 feet) during the
first phases of construction. Additionally, the concrete had to be capable of achieving full
consolidation in complex areas with dense steel reinforcement for the core of the structure.
(source: Lafarge)

7. THE BUILDING IS QUITE SLENDER GIVEN ITS HEIGHT

Lateral wind and seismic loads applied to the building are resisted by the central reinforced
concrete core/elevator and stair shafts. With an aspect ratio of about 15:1, the lateral system
is very slender for a building of this type. A concrete testing program was undertaken early in
the project in an effort to design a concrete mix which would result in a stiffer concrete core
overall, allowing for a reduction in the wall thicknesses. Unfortunately, the availability of
local aggregates and other materials, as well as the high cost of importing materials proved to
be cost prohibitive and a more conventional high strength concrete (80 MPa or 11,600 psi)
was ultimately used.
8. MECHANICAL AND PASSIVE DRAINAGE SOLUTIONS ARE USED TO
PREVENT MOISTURE BUILD-UP WITHIN SHADOW BOXES

The tower’s glazing consists of unitized curtain wall panels with a shadow box detail. The
transparent glass extends all the way to the top of each panel, with a spandrel cavity shadow
box installed behind the glass in the top section of the panel, rather than the more traditional
aesthetic of an opaque spandrel area at the top of each panel physically separated from the
vision area. A common issue with older shadow boxes is the potential for
condensation/fogging within the insulated spandrel cavity. Since the glass is transparent in
this area, we helped specify the need for drainage and ventilation of this space to ensure weep
ports were provided in the Tower units to prevent moisture build-up in these areas from
occurring. At lower Lobby levels, the shadow boxes are full height to hide mechanical floor
equipment. These lower level shadow box areas are connected individually to a system which
mechanically supplies dry air into the shadow box cavity behind the glass to prevent moisture
build-up.

9. BUILDING A DRAINING SYSTEM FOR THE 18-METRE-HIGH

TRANSPARENT GLASS PAVILION TOOK SOME SERIOUS COORDINATION

Partially built, the Winter Garden Pavilion is a jewel box-like structure consisting of glass
walls and roof softened by rounded corners and edges. Mullion sections measuring 325 mm x
75 mm (13 inches by 3 inches) will support the pavilion’s glass envelope. Similar to the
tower, the shape of the pavilion includes curved corners and double-curved units at outer top-
level corners. Managing snow and ice on the roof was one of the key design considerations,
and we had to get creative. The roof drains run down the inside of the concrete filled
columns, so there are no exposed drains in the pavilion. This took close coordination and
detailed mock ups between all trades involved (structure, mechanical, electrical, and
architectural finishes).
10. THE TOWER HAS A GOLD-LEVEL RATING IN LEADERSHIP IN ENERGY
AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN (LEED)

The tower adheres to strict building efficiency guidelines, including optimization of energy,
light and water, and the use of local and recycled building materials. The building uses
innovative design technologies and conservation strategies. Incorporated in the building’s
design, these features help conserve energy and limit its carbon footprint.
Engineering Dictionary

Slab to Slab : The entire area of an interior space, wall-to-wall and true ceiling to true floor. True
ceiling height refers to the structural basis for an interior space and does not include
suspended or "drop" ceilings. Likewise, true floor refers to the lowest structural unit,
either the floor itself or the concrete slab underlying the floor.

Water-tube boiler : A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a
type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel
is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-
generating tubes. In smaller boilers, additional generating tubes are separate in
the furnace, while larger utility boilers rely on the water-filled tubes that make up
the walls of the furnace to generate steam.