The Bow

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

This pioneering office tower takes its name both from its unusual form and from the nearby Bow River. Headquarters for two major energy companies, the 58-story building was the first phase of an ambitious plan to revitalize Calgary’s Downtown East Village.

With its graceful crescent shape, The Bow is designed to reduce energy consumption and promote a sense of community inside and out. Even the configuration of its Otis^® elevators, more typical of a much taller building, is calculated to foster interaction among The Bow’s tenants.

The office tower faces south, curving toward the sun to take advantage of the natural light and heat. The resulting bow maximizes the amount of internal space that has an unimpeded view of the Rocky Mountains.

Where the building curves inward, the glazed façade is pulled forward to create an atrium that runs the full height of the tower. The atrium acts as a climatic buffer zone, helping to insulate the building.

The architects estimate this design feature reduces energy consumption by approximately 30 percent. The solar heat collected in the atrium is redistributed, in winter by means of extraction, in summer using heat exchange.

To foster a sense of community, the architects created three sky gardens that project into the atrium at floors 24, 42 and 54. The sky gardens serve as common spaces and feature trees, seating areas and meeting rooms.

The gardens also function as lobbies. People entering the building take express elevators to one of the sky gardens, where they then take a local elevator to their floor.

This combination of elevator strategy and the incorporation of green spaces encourages social interaction throughout the building.