TELUS House

TELUS Corporation

Vancouver, British Colombia

Client: TELUS Corporation
Completion Date: 2001 (Phase 1); 2007 (Phase 2)
Square Footage: 130,000

Awards:
Interior Design Institute of British Columbia Awards, Gold Award, 2008
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Medal in Architecture, 2008
Consulting Engineers of BC, Award of Excellence for Building Engineering, 2008
International Design Resource Award, First Place, 2001
National Energy Efficiency Award, 2000
International Green Building Challenge, 2000
Consulting Engineers of British Columbia, Award of Excellence, 2000
American Institute of Architects, "What Makes it Green?" Exhibit, 2001

The TELUS House project was conceived to satisfy a number of internal business needs and, in doing so, revitalized an existing complex and created a powerful corporate presence for the company in downtown Vancouver. The project consisted of two major phases: an extensive renovation of the former building into office and retail space and the creation of a feature atrium for team members that serves as a seismic upgrade for the building.

The first phase of TELUS House included extensive interior and exterior renovations of approximately 130,000 square feet of office and equipment space. Instead of demolishing the existing 9-storey tower, TELUS and the design team devised an alternative solution to recycle the building into offices, which saved landfill, energy, resources and established the telecommunications company as a leader in environmental sustainability. The exterior revitalization was realized as an open, layered and sophisticated new ‘skin’ enveloping the old building shell. A double-glazed, fritted and frameless glazing system with operable windows is suspended from the existing building face providing opportunities for a highly effective natural ventilation system. The second skin created the first double-wall/triple-skinned green building solution in Canada while adhering to TELUS’ ultra-green mandate.

Following the successful revitalization, TELUS Corporation proceeded with the second phase of the project that included a new feature space and seismic upgrade. The TELUS House atrium was designed and constructed, using a unique and elegant steel solution, which has resulted in increased structural integrity of the complex and substantially greater access to natural light for office users. The interior space also features two highly refined pedestrian bridges and a dramatic folded-plate steel stairway.