Ledcor Construction is the construction manager of The Bow project, which will be the largest of its kind in western Canada at 2 million square feet.

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Calgary, Alberta-based Ledcor Construction, the construction arm of the Ledcor Group of Cos. – says it is excited to be the construction manager of a future icon in Calgary. The Bow project, at approximately 2 million square feet of space and 775 feet high, is expected to be the largest  single-tenant office building in western Canada when it is completed in 2011.

The Bow is owned by H&R Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), Canada’s second-largest REIT with a market cap of $3.2 billion (Canadian). EnCana Corp., a leader in unconventional natural gas and integrated oilsands development in North America, will be the only tenant of the building.

The Bow broke ground in June 2007, and the key construction players – Ledcor and development manager Matthews Southwest Developments Inc. – say they expect a smooth ride in the upcoming months. “We’re extremely happy to have won this project,” Ledcor Senior Vice President Kerry Gillis says. “We’re looking forward to building a great project that will set the city of Calgary apart from all the other cities in Canada.”

The project site covers the majority of two city blocks in downtown Calgary. It will feature a 58-story north tower – home of EnCana – and a seven-story south block that will contain 200,000 square feet of retail and cultural space. The north tower will also have three floors of sky gardens and two levels of retail space.

Additionally, a below-grade parking garage will hold up to 1,390 vehicles and 356 bicycles. The building will also contain Plus 15 connections – a raised pedway that is 15 feet above street level – to neighboring buildings, including Telus and Petro-Canada Centre, in addition to the north and south blocks’ entrances. The Bow’s curved shape and glass design is a “bold and imaginative way” of enhancing the walking experience, the developers say. 

The Bow will change the Calgary skyline, declares Jack Matthews, CEO of Matthews Southwest Developments. “The Bow will push the boundaries of office design and bring Calgary to the forefront of the international architectural arena,” he said in a statement. “We are proud of all the hard work and expertise that has brought us to this point.”

“When The Bow is complete in 2011, we believe our city will have a new architectural, business and cultural landmark at its heart and on its location,” EnCana President and CEO Randy Eresman said in a statement. “With our staff housed in one downtown location, we believe The Bow’s village atmosphere will cultivate an interesting and vibrant corner of our city center – a place where people can discuss and discover the commerce, innovation and cultural spirit that makes Calgary the great place it is.”

World-Class Project
Aside from its structure, which is the largest project Ledcor has done to date, The Bow is unique because of its world-class design, Gillis states. “It’s a Norman Foster signature design,” Gillis stresses. “It’s world-class in the Calgary market.”

Foster is the chairman and founder of London-based Foster + Partners, responsible for some of the largest construction projects in the world. These include the Beijing Airport, Millau Viaduct in France, the Swiss Re tower and the Great Court at the British Museum in London.

According to Ledcor, The Bow’s shape, exterior steel diagrid framing and orientation to prevailing weather all work to make the building 30 percent lighter than comparable buildings. “We’re using a structural steel gravity core rather than concrete,” Gillis explains, noting that the project will use approximately 35,000 tons of structural steel and 10,000 yards of concrete for the parking structure and metal deck toppings. The challenge, he anticipates, is the construction of such a complex design and handling the materials on the site downtown, with no laydown area.  

Steel has been ordered from Japan, Europe and North America for fabrication in Vancouver, British Columbia; Hamilton, Ontario; Edmonton, Alberta; and Montreal. “The volume of steel and complexity of the fabrication requires it to be fabricated in four different locations,” Ledcor states. “Thirty percent of the steel must be fabricated before erection starts or the erectors will run out of material. The heaviest sections are a 70-ton lift.” 

Steel will arrive on-site on a sequential fast-track basis, according to Zeidler Partnership, project architect. “To meet the aggressive occupancy schedule, the steel must start erection before the parking garage structure is complete,” it explains. “To achieve this, an umbrella of steel will be created on six-story steel tilts from the bottom of the mass concrete pad to the ground level, so trucks [can be] brought close to the edge of the building directly under the cranes. The parking structure will be a combination of steel and concrete structure.”

Early Preparation
Gillis says Ledcor is preparing for the upcoming challenges by bringing trades on board early to assist in design and construction issues.     

Aside from constant communication with Matthews Southwest Developments, Ledcor also maintains good relationships with The Bow’s design team, which includes a number of partners. 

Another concern, Gillis says, is finding skilled labor. “Calgary is an extremely busy market from the labor perspective,” he states. “There is a lot of construction going on and [the challenge] is to attract good labor and get good trade contractors.” Ledcor will bring trade contractors on board early, so they can schedule their work force for the benefit of this project. The Bow’s prominent status should also help draw in potential employees, he notes. “It’s a very prestigious building,” Gillis continues. “Hopefully, that will attract workers.”

Economical Design
The Bow’s curved shape allows for a more green design, Gillis notes. A typical office floor will have about 32,000 square feet, and the shape of the building will permit a majority of the offices to have windows, Architectural Manager Jade Kanevski adds. 

The project, however, is not vying for LEED certification. “The project was designed with sustainability and energy efficiency in mind, and we’re [already] confident it will perform to the highest standards when complete,” Ledcor says.

“The southwest-facing orientation of the building provides ample views west [of] the mountains and captures much of the daily sunshine, contributing to the sustainable aspects of the complex,” Kanevski explains. “[In addition], the shape and position of the tower help deal effectively with summer and winter wind patterns.”

Aside from its sky garden floors, which will feature a park-like environment with trees and vegetation, Zeidler Partnership says other green features include:
g A building orientation to capture and control sunlight energy – Zeidler says this will allow for a more natural airflow and temperature-controlled environment.

District energy systems and an underfloor air delivery system – The Bow will be the first user of the Calgary energy system, which will utilize hot and chilled water from underground pipes. With this system, Zeidler says, “conditioned air will be delivered from a pressurized zone under the floor surface rather than the ceiling, producing a far more responsive and efficient air-quality control.”

An economical design in its diagrid structural system – Halcrow-Yolles is responsible for developing the exterior diagrid, which is “a diagonal and vertical steel frame that significantly reduces the overall steel weight, while producing a robust structure and reducing the number and size of any interior columns and thickness of the elevator shaft walls,” Zeidler explains.

Gaining Client’s Trust
The key to winning projects such as The Bow, Gillis notes, is its partnership approach. “We’ve been successful because of our ability to work with the owners, to create a level of trust, and put together a realistic budget, negotiate and turn completed projects on schedule and on budget,”
he explains. 

In addition, Ledcor’s experience with high-rise projects has prepared the company for The Bow. “Ledcor has completed several large and complex high-rise projects – office, institutional and residential – on downtown sites, building property line to property line with no laydown area,” Gillis notes. “The expertise we have obtained in building these complex projects with just-in-time delivery and extensive material handling programs will be put to good use on The Bow project.”   

Ledcor considers all of its projects “high profile,” regardless of their size and costs, Gillis says. It employs more than 5,000 people, and has eight offices in the United States – Chicago, Dallas, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Napa and San Diego, Calif., Orlando and Seattle – and six offices in Canada – Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. The company’s 2006 to 2007 revenue was $1.7 billion.

What distinguishes Ledcor from its competitors is its belief in long-term relationships, Gillis adds. “We believe in doing multiple projects with clients,” he says. “We work with the owner from concept to design, to value analysis and construction.” This is the reason for Ledcor’s repeat business, he stresses.

Although The Bow is Ledcor’s first project for H&R REIT, Gillis says the two companies had previously talked about working on potential projects. “We’ve been in contact with them several times, but no project has fit until [The Bow],” he states.

EnCana, on the other hand, has been a long-term client of Ledcor’s pipeline division, Gillis says.

‘Confident Vision’
Matthews Southwest Develop-ments, based in Lewisville, Texas, is a full-service development firm that has completed projects in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The company has grown significantly through acquisitions and forming partnerships since it was founded in 1988.

The company says it works with owners from concept to completion. “With strong emphasis on time management and cost controls, [we provide] investors the profitable return that initially attracts them,” it explains. “Matthews is well-positioned to continue its momentum of developing quality real estate properties.”

The Bow is the largest project Matthews Southwest Develop-ments has undertaken.

A ‘Quantum Leap’
EnCana was the original owner of The Bow, prior to selling it to H&R REIT early this year. John Brannan, EnCana’s building project executive lead, says this was a good move for the company.

“Two years ago, we set out to bring all our Calgary staff who currently work in five downtown buildings under one roof,” he explained in a statement.

“We assembled the land, commissioned a world-renowned architect to create an innovative design and we have led this project on a path toward bringing our company and our city a unique office tower and cultural destination,” he added.

“From the start, we sought to secure an attractive Calgary headquarters for our company at a competitive, long-term lease rate,” he continued.

 “Having reached a stage of the project where we have accomplished our long-term objectives, we [sold] it to a leading office developer with extensive experience building and managing commercial real estate.”

In the end, according to Zeidler, The Bow is a step up in the construction and design industry and a symbol of Calgary’s growing market.

“The result [will be] an office design with sensitivity to detail and an improved work environment more commonly found in European buildings,” it explains. “The Bow is truly a modern office building design, where form follows function in an elegant resolution of the many challenges facing a major high-rise office building. It is a quantum leap forward for North American office building design.”