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Telus Sky (skyscraper)
Telus Sky (skyscraper)
	Telus Sky in September 2021
General information
Status	Completed
Type	Mixed-use (Residential & Commercial)
Location	685 Centre Street SW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Coordinates	51°02′48″N 114°03′49″W / 51.0468°N 114.0636°W
Construction started	2015
Completed	2020
Cost	CA$400 million
Owner	Westbank Corporation & Allied Properties REIT
Height
Roof	222.3 m (729 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	60
Floor area	70,721 m2 (761,230 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Bjarke Ingels Group & Dialog
Developer	Westbank Developments
Structural engineer	Glotman Simpson
Other information
Number of rooms	326
Website
	telussky.com

Telus Sky, (also stylized as TELUS Sky) is a 60-storey, 222.3 m (729 ft)^[1] mixed-use skyscraper in downtown Calgary, Alberta, Canada. At completion in 2019, the structure building became the third-tallest building in Calgary behind Brookfield Place East and The Bow.^[1] As of July 2020, Telus Sky is the 18th tallest building in Canada,^[1] though several buildings in Toronto exceeding its height are under construction including The One.^[2]

Telus Sky incorporates 70,721 m² (761,230 sq ft) of mixed-use area available. There is a total of 39,181 m² (421,740 sq ft) of office space within the structure, of which 12,033 m² (129,520 sq ft) is leased by the named-tenant Telus Communications, Canadian telecommunications company that is a subsidiary of Telus Corporation.

History

On July 4, 2013, the Telus Corporation announced the development of the $400-million ($511-million in 2023) Telus Sky, designed by the architectural firms Bjarke Ingels Group and Dialog, which promised to provide a new architectural landmark to Calgary's Downtown to be completed in 2017.^[3] The announcement included plans for a 750,000 sq ft (70,000 m²) mixed-use tower to incorporate office, retail and residential space. Of which there was to be 26 floors totaling 430,000 sq ft (40,000 m²) of office space with Telus reserving 155,000 sq ft (14,400 m²).^[4] Telus Sky would also host 341 residential units on the upper 32 floors and 15,000 sq ft (1,400 m²) of retail space, mostly on the second floor connected to the city's Plus 15 pedway system.^[3] The design included LEED Platinum status and a number of sustainable design features including a storm water management system, and a 5,500 sq ft (510 m²) public gallery.^[4]

The building was designed with a clean rectangular base and bottom floors for efficient open-office layouts, and as the building rises, the floor plates slowly reduce in size and pixilate creating small balconies and terraces.^[5]

Prior the construction of Telus Sky, the corner of 7 Avenue & Centre St SW was home to a three-storey building constructed in 1928 and hosted Art Central, a place where local artists could create and showcase their talent in small galleries and studios. The building was demolished in November 2014.^[6]

Construction on Telus Sky started in February 2015.^[7] Due to the small footprint of the site, there was not enough room for traditional excavators or ramps to facilitate digging the base, instead a hydraulic crane using a clam-shell bucket was used to excavate the 80,000 m³ (100,000 cu yd) of dirt to a depth of up to 31 m (102 ft) to create the base of the building.^[8]

Construction of the Telus Sky continued past the original completion date of 2017, with delays causing construction to continue into 2019. The first commercial tenants were scheduled to move in July 2019 and the residential rental suites received bookings for September 2019.^[9]^[10]

Public Art

Telus Sky's northern and southern facades are clad in a dynamic LED display dubbed "Northern Lights", designed by Canadian artist Douglas Coupland, which is one of the largest public art fixtures in Canada.

The LED light strips that make up the art piece are equipped with an infinite number of colour shades and combinations. The Northern Lights display will go through five 12-minute sequences per hour. With the starting sequence always being a mimic of the world famous aurora borealis, and the remaining four sequences to be interchangeable. The public art features an interactive smartphone app that will give users information about what inspired the current pattern at any given sequence, and will be online from sunrise to sunset, 365 days a year.^[11] The Northern Lights display was first previewed on April 19, 2019.^[12]

Building details

The developers of Telus Sky are striving to achieve LEED Platinum certification for the office, retail, and art spaces of the building, with the residential levels being targeted for LEED Gold. This will make Telus Sky the most environmentally sustainable building in Canada over 200 meters in height.^[3]

Square footage of:
- The entire building: 761,235 square feet (70,721 m²)
- The office space: 421,738 square feet (39,181 m²) on 29 floors
- The residential space: 319,451 square feet (29,678 m²) on floors 30-58
- The retail space: 21,046 square feet (1,955 m²) located mainly on the ground level
- Total leased space: 129,525 square feet (12,033 m²)
- Art space: 5,500 square feet (511 m²)
- Number of storeys: 60
- Listing Agency: Colliers International

Tenants

Following the collapse in oil prices in 2015, the Calgary real-estate market began to suffer from growing vacant downtown office space, which Telus Sky has not been immune. As of April 2020, Telus Sky has an occupancy level of 60%, which is split among five commercial tenants, of which the Telus Corporation represents 140,000 square feet (13,006 m²) or 33% of the occupancy.^[13]

Tenants include: