Calgary Courts Centre is an institutional tower in downtown Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

. It was constructed by the Government of Alberta and provides over 1 million square feet (90,000 m²) of court

Court

A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...

 and office space.

History

Construction began in late 2004, and is now complete. Development of the east block began in the Fall of 2007. It included a 700-stall underground parkade, an urban park

Urban park

An urban park, is also known as a municipal park or a public park, public open space or municipal gardens , is a park in cities and other incorporated places to offer recreation and green space to residents of, and visitors to, the municipality...

, and the demolition of the Court of Queen's Bench facility.

The prime consultant for the building was Kasian Architecture and Interior Design Ltd working collaboratively with design architect Carlos Ott

Carlos Ott

Carlos Ott is a Uruguayan architect who resides in Canada. He became famous when he won the first prize in 1983 for the construction of the Opéra de la Bastille in Paris, which was inaugurated on July 14, 1989...

 and is built by the Cana construction company with the security system being installed by Convergint Technologies. The structural engineering was provided by Stantec. On completion, the north tower's 24 floors will stand 129 m (423 ft) high. The project has a budget of 300 million dollars and will host 73 courtrooms, judicial

Judiciary

The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...

 chambers, and facilities for 180 security personnel and approximately 360 government, library and external agencies staff.

Amenities

The complex has incorporated many post-9/11 security measures into its design, such as large steel barriers that can be raised to prevent cars from entering the glass atrium. One difference between the CCC and conventional buildings is its ability to withstand structural damage. The structure has been designed to remain standing even after 2/3s of the exterior columns on the first six floors have experienced failure. This is possible because each tower contains more structural steel than both of the 52 story Bankers Hall

Bankers Hall

Bankers Hall is a building complex located in downtown Calgary, Alberta, which includes twin 52-storey office towers , designed by the architectural firm Cohos Evamy in postmodern architectural style....

 towers combined, rendering the building virtually airplane-proof. The courtrooms feature bullet-proof judges' benches, jury boxes, and witness stands.

In April 2007, Telus

TELUS

Telus is a national telecommunications company in Canada that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voice, entertainment, video, and satellite television. The company is based in Burnaby, British Columbia, part of Greater Vancouver...

was awarded the $16.3 million contract to provide the buildings with high-tech video recording, video conferencing, remote witness facilitation and remote management. The west block of the complex is scheduled to open in August 2007.