Thursday, March 28, 2024

Architectural Gem of Edmonton

Any city in the world can be compared to a dish with many different ingredients, some of which only add flavor, while others may spoil it. Let’s face the truth and admit with warmth in our hearts that Edmonton is not just a tasty work of art but a delicious dessert! Usually, it contains many different sweet ingredients, and today we will once again remember one of the highlights of Edmonton, but let’s try to taste it in a new way. For more information, please visit the website edmonton-future.

“Edmonton City Hall”

Compared to other famous landmarks of the city, the object of our discussion can and should be considered one of the youngest in the cohort of tourist attractions. For comparison, the University of Alberta was founded in 1906, while the “Edmonton City Hall” opened in 1992. It took two years for the builders to construct the City Hall, as the building is also known. If we are being nitpicky, the construction of this beauty began in June 1990.

Most citizens know that the Winston Churchill Square area was not vacant before the City Hall was built, as there was a municipal building constructed in 1957. Maintaining the old building meant significant financial losses for the city, so it was decided to change the concept and create something simple yet modern and financially feasible.

Numbers and facts

Nobody knows that the initial sketches or designs on paper differed from what we have as a result. According to the idea of the architect Gene Dub and the designers of “Dub Architects,” there were supposed to be four cones, but the community was skeptical of the idea, as they resembled nuclear reactors on the outside. The plan was slightly adjusted, and therefore, Churchill Square was adorned with a building that has a pyramid shape, reminiscent of rocks. Another highlight of Edmonton is the “Muttart Conservatory.”

The building has three full-fledged floors, not including the basement rooms. Each floor contains countless halls, lobbies, offices, etc. By the way, anyone can virtually wander through the walls of the City Hall from anywhere in the world via the Internet.

Both pyramids reach a height of 43 meters, and the crowning glory of the creation is the 60-meter “Friendship Tower”, adorned with a precious clock with 23 bells.

It turns out that the design of the structure has its architectural style, namely postmodernism, which emerged in the 1960s and is characterized by symmetry, proportionality, and expressive imagery.

The construction of the “Edmonton City Hall” cost nearly 50 million dollars, and honestly, it’s impossible to say that it’s a crazy amount of money. Although, compared to the 28-story beauty “Epcor Tower,” the cost of the City Hall is only 1/5th, and the number of floors is only 1/9th, but that’s a different story.

Another surprising fact in the building’s history is that a year after its official opening, it received an award from the American Institute of Concrete for outstanding achievements in design and construction.

For dessert, it is worth noting that in 2021 an interesting event occurred in the history of the City Hall when the building was renamed “Nathan Fillion Civilian Pavilion” for 24 hours. Born in Edmonton in 1971, Nathan Fillion is a famous actor, particularly known for his work in films such as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, “Guardians of the Galaxy”, “Dracula 2000”, and “Cars 3”. 

Have we opened up something new about one of the landmarks of our city to the reader? We hope that it is truly so, but any phraseological expressions and verbal techniques of the most outstanding writers cannot replace the impressions of seeing it with your own eyes. So, as they say, “It’s better to see something once than to hear about it a hundred times” and “Welcome to Edmonton.”

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