Built with granite and Tyndall stone, the building is located in the northeast corner of the Alberta Legislature grounds, overlooking the Violet King Henry Plaza.
The eleventh floor, which was added during the renovations, offers views of the "Alberta legislature, the North Saskatchewan River valley and the downtown skyline.
A local architect designed its Art Deco architecture in 1939, but construction was delayed by World War II and by changes in governments and priorities.
[4]: 81 Prime Minister John Diefenbaker officially opened the building on March 8, 1958, following its completion; federal staff worked in its offices for the next thirty years.
[6] Provincial government staff and MLAs began moving into the building in February 2015,[5][a] with the Capital Plaza and other public spaces opening in summer that year.
[3] The building was not officially renamed until September 27, after the death of Elizabeth II, with Lieutenant Governor Salma Lakhani and Premier Jason Kenney in attendance.
[1] The Federal Building was originally designed in 1939, by a prominent local architect George Heath MacDonald, but its construction was delayed until long after World War II.
[4]: 81 In a 1987 book about architecture in Alberta, the building that finally opened in 1958, was described as "rather tired and instantly dated", designed by an architect heading into retirement based on plans that were almost twenty years old.
It would preserve the "history and beauty of an architectural landmark", and—along with the creation of the Centennial Plaza—would transform the legislature grounds into a year-round appealing public space for all Albertans.
[11]: 14 Danyluk said in the 2010 Department of Infrastructure annual report, that was reviewed favourably by the Auditor General, Merwan N. Saher, that the Stelmach government was committed to adopting Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards in construction projects.
[1] Following the resignation of Premier Stelmach in October 2011, during the premiership of Alison Redford there was a succession of infrastructure ministers—Jeff Johnson (2011–2012), Wayne Drysdale (2012–2013), and Ric McIver (2013–2014).
[12] By the time Redford left office in March 2014, under pressure from an "escalating spending scandal",[13] the renovation project had been "dogged by cost overruns and controversy.
[5] In a January 2015 Edmonton Journal article, Paula Simons described some of the additions and changes, which included a private caucus room on the tenth floor that cost $84,265, a $40,000 cabinet table, and a "new $602,000 main staircase".
[20] In May 2012, shortly after winning the election, Redford became involved in the provincially-owned federal building redevelopment plan for the tenth and eleventh floors, according to the August 2014 Special Duty Report by the Auditor General of Alberta.
[12] The premier's office contacted the Kasian Architecture firm directly to discuss the provision of "residential functions" on the eleventh floor,[21] which included adding two side-by-side bedrooms with showers.
Shortly after CBC broke the story about the "sky palace" in March 2014, Ric McIver, who had served as Redford's Infrastructure Minister since December 2013, said the plans for a residential suite were cancelled after he took over the ministry.
Panda announced that the living wall would be removed and "replaced with sculptures as part of an ongoing upgrade of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system.