Toronto-Dominion Square, originally Oxford Square, is a full-block building complex in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

built by Oxford Developments. The project was designed by

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill SOM, an initialism of its original name Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, is a Chicago-based architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings. In 1939, they were joined by engineer ...

of New York, with J. H. Cook and Associates as the architect of record. It is located on the block between 7 and 8 Avenues South and 2 and 3 Streets West. The structure consists of a five-storey base with two 35-storey towers. The south tower is named for the Home Oil Company and the north tower is named for Dome Petroleum. The base includes a large botanical garden called the Devonian Gardens. In 1980, SOM replicated the design concept in its

Town Square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

. The tower has a height of and holds 35 floors. Designed by ''CPV Group Architects and Engineers Ltd'' in late

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

style, it was built by ''PCL Construction'' and was completed in 1977. The building is managed by ''Cushman and Wakefield''. Devonian Gardens is a large indoor park and

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

located in the

downtown core The Downtown Core is the historical and downtown centre of the city-state of Singapore and the main commercial area in Singapore excluding reclaimed lands with two integrated resorts such as the Marina Bay Sands, one of the most expensive buil ...

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada. In 2012 a major $37-million renovation was completed. Located on the Stephen Avenue pedestrian mall (8 Avenue SW) between 2 Street SW and 3 Street SW, the park is completely enclosed with glass and covers (one full city block) on the top floor of

The Core Shopping Centre The Core (stylized the CORE Shopping Centre), which consists of TD Square, the Holt Renfrew building, the Lancaster building (Simons), the Stephen Avenue Place shops, Scotia Centre, and the former Calgary Eaton Centre, is the dominant shopping ...

(formerly TD Square). It is maintained by The City of Calgary Parks. The gardens include a living wall, koi ponds, fountains, a children's play area, and over 550 trees, as well as meeting/function space for special events. A full-service restaurant is also planned. DevonianGardens-9

Opened in 1977, Devonian Gardens was designed by J.H. Cook Architects and Engineers and donated to the City of Calgary by the Devonian Group of Charitable Foundations and Calford Properties. The construction cost was 9 million

dollars Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian d ...

. The original gardens contained more than 20,000 plants representing 135

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and local species, decorated with waterfalls, bridges, koi ponds and sculptures by local artists, showcased as a permanent art exhibition. A major redevelopment of

(formerly TD Square) beneath the park began in 2008, requiring the gardens to close for renovations for 4 years. The changes include a wider, taller circulation space in the mall below and installation of a 3-block long, continuous skylight above. The gardens reopened on June 27, 2012, and features additional seating for the CORE food court, a playground and space for corporate events. In 2016 it had to be closed again to repair persistent leaks.

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Calgary Skyscraper office buildings in Calgary Buildings and structures completed in 1977 Modernist architecture in Canada