The official opening of the new high-rise symbol of Calgary took place on June 6. The building owes its name - The Bow - to the Bow River, on which the city stands. This waterway is famous for its picturesque bends, and the architects also laid an arc as the basis for the plan of the new office complex.
This shape was chosen not only for its showiness, but also for its economy. Firstly, less steel was needed to construct the concave building, and secondly, facing south and working as a kind of trap for the sun, it can significantly reduce the cost of heating and lighting the premises. The facades of the skyscraper are glazed and seem to be braided with a steel lattice with triangular cells. Each such triangle has a height of 6 floors, and composed of four, they form giant rhombuses, which allows you to visually change the proportions of the building and make it an even more expressive high-rise dominant in the city's panorama.
The architects place an atrium along the entire height of the concave facade, which serves as a kind of climate buffer for the building, reliably protecting it from both hypothermia and overheating, and also allows to optimize the plan of a typical office floor. In addition to the atrium, the building has three winter gardens - on the 24th, 42nd and 54th floors, where real trees are planted, places for relaxation and informal communication are equipped. The first two floors of The Bow are also fully dedicated to public functions: shops, cafes and restaurants are located here. This covered arcade becomes an extension of Central Street, thus connecting the new complex to downtown Calgary.
A. M.
