TORONTO – Telus celebrated the opening of its new $250 million office tower in Toronto’s downtown on Wednesday with a nod to the Starship Enterprise.
Telus House Toronto, located at 25 York Street (right beside the Air Canada Centre), is built to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold certification, an internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance sustainable buildings. Occupying 12 of the 30 floors, Telus is the feature tenant in the Menkes-owned building.
Along with Federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice and other high profile guests, Telus president and CEO Darren Entwistle (pictured) praised Telus House Toronto as one of the most publicly accessible, technologically advanced and environmentally sustainable buildings in North America.
"Since 2000, Telus has invested $18.6 billion to bring advanced technologies and services to our clients in Ontario," Entwistle said in a statement. "The official opening of Telus House Toronto marks a decade of investment and drive to put down deep roots in Ontario. This magnificent building not only sets a new standard for energy conservation and environmental leadership, it also demonstrates Telus’ resolute commitment to our team, customers and communities here. We are honoured to celebrate the new home of more than 1,600 Telus team members and are excited to have it take a place in Toronto’s signature skyline."
The company said that the building’s advanced heating and cooling system reduces the cost of energy by up to 60%, its auto-dimming lighting allows for a 25% reduction in energy consumption, and the storm water management system recycles water for washrooms and outdoor irrigation (6,000 plants are now growing on parts of the deck and roof, for example) which in turn reduces Telus’ water consumption by 10,000 litres per year.
"The lights go on and off as you walk down the hallways," said Telus chief commercial officer Joe Natale (left). "It’s like being Captain Jean-Luc Picard (of the Starship Enterprise)."
The facility brings together Telus employees from 15 offices across Toronto and is wired to create “a truly mobile workforce”. Employees are able to work on any floor, in shared spaces and connect virtually with other employees across Canada. Technological advancements like Telepresence – the Cisco/Tandberg powered super high definition video conferencing – allow for virtual meetings and have reduced travel costs for the company by 40%. There are 10 of the units in eight Telus locations across Canada.
Telus’ Ontario chief Natale told Cartt.ca that Telepresence – which can bring meeting attendees together from a number of cities on-screen in real time and life-sized (it’s truly like you’re in the same room with them and is really the closest thing in the new building to Capt. Picard’s fictional era…) – has cut his personal time on the road in half.
Below is a shot of the Toronto Telepresence unit with meeting attendees chatting and all seeing each other in real time, from (l to r), Vancouver, Edmonton and Montreal.
