Elveden Centre is a three-tower office building located at 717 7th Avenue Southwest 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 ...

. Designed by Alberta architectural firm

Rule Wynn and Rule Rule Wynn and Rule was a Canadian architectural firm that had offices in Calgary and Edmonton. The firm is noted for its prominent role in bringing modern architecture to Alberta. History Founded by John Ulric Rule (1904-1978) and Gordon K. Wynn ( ...

and built in three phases between 1959 and 1964, it is one of Calgary's best examples of International-style architecture.

History and design

During the boom following the discovery of

Leduc No. 1 Leduc No. 1 was a major crude oil discovery made near Leduc, Alberta, Canada, on February 13, 1947. It provided the geological key to Alberta's most prolific conventional oil reserves and resulted in a boom in petroleum exploration and development ...

on 13 February 1947, the area of downtown Calgary west of 4th Street saw the construction of many new office buildings intended to house the oil companies that had moved into the city. These buildings included the

Barron Building The Barron Building is an eleven-storey office tower located at 610 8th Avenue Southwest in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Designed by architect Jack Cawston and built between 1949 and 1951, it is one of Canada's foremost examples of Art Moderne archit ...

(1947),

Petro Chemical Building Petro is a masculine given name, a surname and an Ancient Roman cognomen. It may refer to: Given name * Petro Balabuyev (1931–2007), Ukrainian airplane designer, engineer and professor, lead designer of many Antonov airplanes * Petro Doroshenko ...

(1956),

Triad Oil Building Triad or triade may refer to: * a group of three Humanities * Trichotomy (philosophy), often called triads * Triad (sociology), a group of three people as a unit of study * Triad (relationship), or ''ménage à trois'' Music * Triad (music ...

(1956),

Britannia Building The image of Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously applied to the Britis ...

(1958), Petro-Fina Building (1959), and

Dome Oil Building A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

(1959). Elveden was commissioned by British Pacific Building, a company owned by the

Guinness family The Guinness family is an extensive Irish family known for its achievements in brewing, banking, politics, and religious ministry. The brewing branch is particularly well known among the general public for producing the dry stout beer Guinnes ...

. The family at that time had interests in the Calgary companies Duke Drilling Investment Company and Seabridge Investments. Albertan architectural firm Rule Wynn and Rule was hired for the project. Construction, done by the Commonwealth Construction Company, began in 1959. Steel was provided by the

Dominion Bridge Company The Dominion Bridge Company, Limited was a Canadian steel bridge constructor originally based in Lachine, Quebec. From the core business of steel bridge component fabrication, the company diversified into related areas such as the fabrication of ...

. In order for the project to commence, the City of Calgary had to amend a restriction that limited buildings to twelve stories. The first and central tower, Elveden House, was built between 1959 and 1960. It is named after the Guinness's estate in Suffolk, which itself is named after half of

Benjamin Guinness Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Baronet, JP, DL (1 November 1798 – 19 May 1868) was an Anglo-Irish brewer and philanthropist. Brewer Born in Dublin, he was the third son of the second Arthur Guinness, and his wife Anne Lee, and a grandson ...

's peer, Viscount Elveden. The second tower, Iveagh House, on the east side, was built between 1960 and 1962 and is named after the other half of Benjamin Guinness's peer, the Earl of Iveagh. The third tower, Guinness House, on the west side, was built between 1962 and 1964 and is named after the Guinness family. The complex has of office space, with in the main tower. In 2005, the Calgary Heritage Authority added Elveden House to its list as a Category A (top priority) site.

References

Buildings and structures completed in 1964 Modernist architecture in Canada Historic buildings and structures in Calgary {{Calgary-stub