New Security Measures Added After Multiple Windows Fall Off Edmonton’s Stantec Tower

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Edmonton’s tallest skyscraper is being treated with a special “safety film” after several window panes fell off the structure.

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Four panes of glass fell from the 66-story Stantec Tower during the summer, and in at least two cases they broke on the street below.

The tower, Canada’s tallest building outside of Toronto, is the focal point of the ICE District, the downtown redevelopment centered on Rogers Place and Edmonton Oilers.

“The ICE district shared facilities can confirm that there have been incidents involving a small amount of glass at Stantec Tower in recent months,” the company said in a statement. “The last recorded incident, however, was in August 2021.”

“As a precautionary measure, a security film is currently being installed that holds the glass in place.” The company described the film as a plastic film cut to fit each window and frame.

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The building has installed scaffolding around the driveways and on nearby sidewalks while the film is being installed.

“The safety of ICE District tenants, residents, guests and the public is paramount,” the statement said.

The occupants began moving into Stantec Tower in 2018. The first were commercial tenants occupying floors 1-30, including the tower’s eponymous engineering company. SKY Residences, a combination of apartments and condos, were granted occupancy on the remaining floors in August 2019.

Since then, several windows have been broken or fallen from the structure.

On May 30, 2021, residential tenants were informed of a crack in a window on the west side of the building. “While the glass is holding, we advise all residents with west-facing balconies not to use them at this time,” indicated an email from the property manager, provided to Postmedia.

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Police closed 103rd Avenue in downtown Edmonton after a Stantec Tower window broke on Wednesday, July 28, 2021.
Police closed 103rd Avenue in downtown Edmonton after a Stantec Tower window broke on Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Photo by Larry Wong /POSTMEDIA NETWORK

On June 25, a section of glass fell from the 30th floor and shattered on 102nd Street. Police closed the street while crews cleaned. At the time, ICE district spokesman Tim Shipton told Postmedia that a window had been broken.

A few days later, on June 30, residents were informed that another pane of glass had fallen off the northwest corner of the tower. That same day, the condominium corporation board opted to close the 30th floor rooftop patio “while a full building envelope assessment is conducted.”

Another pane of glass broke on July 28. While police were called in to help with pedestrian and vehicular traffic outside the building, the cracked window ultimately did not fall off.

In an email, Edmonton City spokeswoman Karen Burgess said the city is “monitoring the situation.”

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“It is the understanding of the City that the condominium strata have approached an engineer to carry out a edifice evaluation in response to the incident of falling window glass in June 2021, ”said Burgess. “Shortly after the incident, a covered walkway was installed to help ensure aerial protection for pedestrians while the assessment is being conducted.”

“It will be the responsibility of the condominium strata to ensure that they take the remedial measures identified in the engineer’s evaluation,” he added. “If the condominium strata do not take the necessary steps to address the problem, the city has the authority under the Department of Security. Codes Act to issue an order compelling the condominium strata to remedy the problems as outlined in their contract engineer evaluation. “

The tower made headlines earlier in the fall of 2019 when strong winds repeatedly blew a hanging platform carrying two maintenance workers against the tower’s glass exterior. Stantec and the adjacent JW Marriott have been praised for their architecture, winning last year the ENR Global award for best retail / mixed-use development project.

To evoke the Oilers logo, the tower’s architects opted to use blue glass instead of green, what is cheaper.

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Workers clean pieces of broken glass along 102nd Street between 104th and 103rd avenues, from a pane of glass that fell from the Stantec tower on Friday, June 25, 2021.
Workers clean pieces of broken glass along 102nd Street between 104th and 103rd avenues, from a pane of glass that fell from the Stantec tower on Friday, June 25, 2021. Photo by Greg Southam /Greg southam

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Reference-edmontonjournal.com

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