True North Square

LOCATION
Winnipeg, Canada

ARCHITECT
Perkins+Will
Architecture49

CLIENT
True North Sports and Entertainment

SIZE
1,200,000 ft²

ROLE
Structural Engineering Consultant

BUDGET
$400 M

Raising the bar for commercial and residential developments in the city’s downtown, True North Square is the first large-scale, multi-use development to be undertaken in Winnipeg since the 1970s. Serving as an anchor to city’s downtown Sports, Hospitality and Entertainment District (SHED), the development will provide connectivity to the RBC Convention Centre, the MTS Centre (home to the Winnipeg Jets NHL team), the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, rapid transit and pedestrian corridors.

True North Square will include residential rental and condo accommodations, a hotel, commercial office space, outdoor venues, retail shopping, underground heated parking, landscaped green spaces and restaurants for residents and tourists alike. The project will meet the highest standards of workplace flexibility, tenant health, comfort and sustainability while creating complimentary public spaces and urban experiences that match the best in North America.

Challenge: A key architectural feature of the three tower development is the stepped and rotated geometry of the building facades, which face the central plaza area. This feature is essential for the wind and solar exposure in the plaza given the project’s northern location.

Solution: Each building required a unique solution for the structural articulation. The columns and walls were oriented perpendicular to the stepping at each floor to minimize the size of these elements. The resulting eccentric gravity loading required a careful approach to the lateral system in order to efficiently resist the drift and torsional loads.

Learn more about True North Square here.

Images courtesy True North Real Estate Development Limited