ICE District

One of Canada's largest mixed-use districts has transformed Downtown Edmonton

Mixed-Use, Sports & Recreation

ICE District is a 25-acre mixed-use development in the heart of Downtown Edmonton that combines sports, entertainment, residential, hotel, office space, and retail, all centred around a public plaza. This project has transformed the area–its location along a busy thoroughfare is unrecognizable from the dusty parking lots that bordered the street just a few years ago–and kickstarted a new wave of investment in Edmonton. DIALOG’s collaborating with design teams on 9 out of 13 major components of ICE District Phase One.

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Location
Edmonton, AB
Size
1,431,588 sq ft
Client
Ice District Joint Venture
Completion
2016
Collaborators

PCL Construction Management Inc.
PFS Studio
Stantec
Hariri Pontarini Architects
Thornton Tomasetti

DIALOG Services

Architecture
Interior Design
Structural Engineering

The building that started it all is Rogers Place, the new downtown home for the Edmonton Oilers.

ICE District is centred around a public plaza that serves as a gathering place and outdoor event venue year-round.

Mixed-use towers rise up from ICE District, dramatically reshaping the Edmonton city skyline.

Towers provide office space, residential condos, and hotel suites with a mix of retail amenities at street level.

DIALOG contributed to 9 of the 13 major components of Phase 1. The collaboration on this project was recognized with a Consulting Engineers of Alberta award of excellence.

The newest luxury hotel in Edmonton in over 30 years is JW Marriott, with a spectacular interior designed by DIALOG.

The newest luxury hotel in Edmonton in over 30 years is JW Marriott, with a spectacular interior designed by DIALOG.

The Team

The crown jewel of the ICE District, Rogers Place, is what sparked it all. Edmonton Oilers explored the idea of building a new arena in the heart of Downtown, and the opportunities for further development and an entertainment district snowballed from there. After plans for ICE District were announced, investment in Edmonton’s core skyrocketed, with new mixed-use towers rising up, office space revitalizations, and plenty of residential buildings too.

DIALOG’s contribution to Rogers Place is hidden in important details such as sustainable design elements and structural engineering. As the lead sustainability consultants for Rogers Place, we led the client, construction and design teams through the sustainability strategy and towards LEED® Silver Certification. Rogers Place is the first NHL facility in Canada built to LEED® Silver standards, and sets the bar high for entertainment venues across Canada to elevate environmental performance.

Below ground, there is an expansive underground parkade that holds 2100 cars and connects all the buildings in Phase One. Architecturally and structurally designed by DIALOG, the award-winning parkade was constructed and opened in phases as the tower blocks above were complete.

In the new JW Marriott ICE District, DIALOG’s interior design team was tasked with creating Edmonton’s first new luxury hotel in over 30 years. The design challenge was in interpreting the hotel’s complex program, which includes a lobby, lounges, guest reception and concierge area, restaurants and bars, gym, spa, event spaces, and guest suites. The final design balances these diverse spaces in a series of big and small moments – ones that span the public and private spheres to make all guests and visitors feel equally welcome.

Awards

2016 Design and Engineering Award (ICE District Parkade)CanBIM
2017 Award of Excellence in Building Engineering – Recreational (Rogers Place)Consulting Engineers of Alberta
2017 Award of Excellence – Collaboration (Rogers Place)Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC) Alberta
2019 Awards of Excellence – Civil (ICE District Parkade)American Concrete Institute (ACI) Alberta Chapter