1250 René-Lévesque
Encyclopedia
1250 Boulevard René-Lévesque, also known as La Tour IBM-Marathon, is a 226 m (741.5 ft), 47-story skyscraper
in Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
.
The building was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates for IBM
Canada and Marathon Realty, hence the former name "IBM-Marathon." It is now named for its address at 1250 René Lévesque Boulevard
West, in the Ville-Marie borough
of Downtown Montreal
. It is adjacent to the Bell Centre
and Windsor Station
to the south, and stands on the site of the former American Presbyterian Church. It is connected to the Bonaventure
metro station and the underground city
network.
1250 is currently managed
by Oxford Properties
and is still partially occupied by IBM.
in Frankfurt
, Germany. The design is partly dictated by the building's position at the western edge of the downtown core, with its shape forming a boundary between the commercial center and the residential periphery. As such it has a markedly rectangular footprint, being very elongated on a north-south axis. Like its Frankfurt counterpart, emphasis is given to the east and west façades, which have opposed yet complementary appearances that strongly relate to the urban area they face.
The modern
-style western façade, facing the residential periphery, is a straight granite
-clad wall covered with square windows, with irregular setbacks creating the appearance of several superimposed slabs. Conversely the postmodern
-style eastern façade, facing the commercial center, is dominated by an outwardly-curved glass curtain wall
that extends past the southern edge, creating a suspended vertical "fin" that emphasizes the structure's impression of lightness and thrust. The narrow north wall recesses in a series of setbacks, allowing the building to keep its human scale
at street level. At the lowest setback, the 4-floor atrium
includes a bamboo
-planted winter garden
, and a food court
on a mezzanine
. At the building top, a spire
/antenna
is integrated to the north walls of the last few floors and extends 31 metres beyond the mechanical penthouse above the 47th floor.
Montreal's downtown area is now expanding beyond the building's "boundary", with the two towers of the recently completed Cité du commerce électronique
in the west. The height of those towers increases towards the 1250 and the city center, creating a "staircase effect" in the skyline. A parking lot remains in-between, which is expected to be redeveloped with a building of intermediate height.
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The building was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates for IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
Canada and Marathon Realty, hence the former name "IBM-Marathon." It is now named for its address at 1250 René Lévesque Boulevard
René Lévesque Boulevard
René Lévesque Boulevard is one of the main streets in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.It is a main east-west thoroughfare passing through the downtown core in the borough of Ville-Marie. The street begins on the west at Atwater Avenue and continues until it merges with Notre Dame Street East just east...
West, in the Ville-Marie borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
of Downtown Montreal
Downtown Montreal
Downtown Montreal is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is nearly enitirely located at the southern most slope of Mount Royal and is approximately bounded by Sherbrooke Street to the north, Papineau Avenue to the east, Guy Street or until Shaughnessy Village to the west,...
. It is adjacent to the Bell Centre
Bell Centre
The Bell Centre , formerly known as the Molson Centre , is a sports and entertainment complex in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened on March 16, 1996 after nearly three years under construction...
and Windsor Station
Windsor Station (Montreal)
Windsor Station is a former train station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, formerly serving as the city's Canadian Pacific Railway Station.Windsor Station was the Canadian Pacific Railway's headquarters built between 1887 and 1889. The Romanesque Revival building was designed by New York architect...
to the south, and stands on the site of the former American Presbyterian Church. It is connected to the Bonaventure
Bonaventure (Montreal Metro)
Bonaventure is a station on the Orange Line of the Montreal Metro rapid transit system, operated by the Société de transport de Montréal . It is located in the borough of Ville-Marie in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada....
metro station and the underground city
Underground City, Montreal
Montreal's Underground City is the set of interconnected complexes in and around Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
network.
1250 is currently managed
Property manager
A property manager or estate manager is a person or firm charged with operating a real estate property for a fee, when the owner is unable to personally attend to such details, or is not interested in doing so...
by Oxford Properties
Oxford Properties
Oxford Properties is an investor, owner, developer and manager of commercial real estate of more than . of commercial & industrial space, more than half of it in the city of Toronto and its suburbs, from where the company is based, but also has regional head offices in New York and London...
and is still partially occupied by IBM.
Building design
1250 René-Lévesque's architecture is based on another skyscraper by Kohn Pedersen Fox, the 51-story Westend Straße 1Westendstraße 1
Westendstraße 1 is a well-known skyscraper in the Westend of Frankfurt. It was completed in 1993 and together with the City Haus, the headquarters of DZ Bank...
in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Germany. The design is partly dictated by the building's position at the western edge of the downtown core, with its shape forming a boundary between the commercial center and the residential periphery. As such it has a markedly rectangular footprint, being very elongated on a north-south axis. Like its Frankfurt counterpart, emphasis is given to the east and west façades, which have opposed yet complementary appearances that strongly relate to the urban area they face.
The modern
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
-style western façade, facing the residential periphery, is a straight granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
-clad wall covered with square windows, with irregular setbacks creating the appearance of several superimposed slabs. Conversely the postmodern
Postmodern architecture
Postmodern architecture began as an international style the first examples of which are generally cited as being from the 1950s, but did not become a movement until the late 1970s and continues to influence present-day architecture...
-style eastern façade, facing the commercial center, is dominated by an outwardly-curved glass curtain wall
Curtain wall
A curtain wall is an outer covering of a building in which the outer walls are non-structural, but merely keep out the weather. As the curtain wall is non-structural it can be made of a lightweight material reducing construction costs. When glass is used as the curtain wall, a great advantage is...
that extends past the southern edge, creating a suspended vertical "fin" that emphasizes the structure's impression of lightness and thrust. The narrow north wall recesses in a series of setbacks, allowing the building to keep its human scale
Human scale
Human scale is the set of physical quantities, and quantities of information, characterizing the human body, its motor, sensory, or mental capabilities, and human social institutions.- Science vs...
at street level. At the lowest setback, the 4-floor atrium
Atrium (architecture)
In modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors...
includes a bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
-planted winter garden
Winter garden
The origin of the winter garden dates back to the 17th to 19th centuries where European nobility would construct large conservatories that would house tropical and subtropical plants and would act as an extension of their living space. Many of these would be attached to their main palaces...
, and a food court
Food court
A food court is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining. Food courts may be found in shopping malls and airports, and in various regions may be a standalone development...
on a mezzanine
Mezzanine (architecture)
In architecture, a mezzanine or entresol is an intermediate floor between main floors of a building, and therefore typically not counted among the overall floors of a building. Often, a mezzanine is low-ceilinged and projects in the form of a balcony. The term is also used for the lowest balcony in...
. At the building top, a spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
/antenna
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
is integrated to the north walls of the last few floors and extends 31 metres beyond the mechanical penthouse above the 47th floor.
Montreal's downtown area is now expanding beyond the building's "boundary", with the two towers of the recently completed Cité du commerce électronique
Cité du commerce électronique
Cité du commerce électronique is a twin tower office complex located in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Construction of the first phase tower at 1350 René-Lévesque Boulevard, with 27 floors, was completed in 2003 with the primary tenant CGI Group occupying most of the building...
in the west. The height of those towers increases towards the 1250 and the city center, creating a "staircase effect" in the skyline. A parking lot remains in-between, which is expected to be redeveloped with a building of intermediate height.