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Little more than two months have past since news broke about Scotia Place's transformation, and the first glimpses of the transition from 1982-vintage gold tint to modern condo blue have surfaced. The 34-year-old office complex in downtown Edmonton is now at the start of what will be a months-long top-to-bottom modernization effort, and photos posted to our Forum by SRC City Ambassador Daveography reveal the beginnings of change for Scotia Place. The first rows of replacement blue-tinted panels now appear amid the tower's soon-to-be-gone golden facade.
The showpiece of a $22 million investment in the building, Scotia Place's new exterior will be a modern marvel. The state-of-the-art cladding system will incorporate accent walls comprised of no less than 13,000 LED-framed glass panels. Occupying the angled outer corners of the buildings, the panels will allow for a computer-controlled colour scheme and hue while functioning as a central feature to the revamped towers' signature new look. While the exterior recladding work will take a full 18 months to complete, a host of interior modernization efforts and retrofits will be happening simultaneously, before the towers are set to reopen in 2018.
Set to bring the massive dual-tower office complex in line with current building trends, the blue hue of the new and improved Scotia Place will help the complex blend better into its surroundings. The up-and-coming ICE District and other related projects found throughout the core have gone a long way towards bringing downtown Edmonton into the 21st century. While critics of Canada's oft-bemoaned blue condo craze may beg to differ, supporters of the project are more than likely correct in their assumption that the current modernization effort and facelift will be effective in prolonging the useful lifespan of the centrally located office tower complex well into the next generation.
Designed and carried out by Kasian for Morguard Investments, the recladding and retrofit will be completed in mid-2018, when the revamped 21- and 28-storey towers of Scotia Place will be reborn into a city centre that has changed dramatically over the last three decades.
SkyriseEdmonton will be sure to return to this project as progress continues. For more information, check out the associated Database file and Forum thread, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.
