2025 Victoria Avenue
“There is more of Saskatchewan in this splendid new structure than in any…building erected up to now in our province.”
The SaskPower Building is one of Regina’s most recognizable buildings. It was designed by Joseph Pettick who would later go on to design other Regina landmark buildings including the Bank of Montreal Building, SGI Building, and Regina City Hall.
The Saskatchewan Power Commission, later SaskPower, was founded in 1929 by the provincial government. In the mid-1950s, SaskPower General Manager David Cass-Beggs decided to amalgamate all the SaskPower offices into a new head office building in the downtown. A chance meeting between Cass-Beggs and Pettick in 1956 led to Pettick being offered the job designing the new building. Pettick travelled the world seeking inspiration. He found it in Brazilia, the new capital of Brazil. There he found a style called Brazilian Modernism, a form of Modernism that embraced curves, with touches of influence from famed artist Antoni Gaudí.
Pettick designed a swooping Y-shaped Brazilian Modernist building for SaskPower, but regionalized the style to reflect place and context – the prairies. Its shape seems to turn the building towards Victoria Park providing views of the park from the offices. The design called for wheat coloured brick, glass mosaic tiles, and gold anodized trim that referenced wheat fields and incorporated the light, colours, and seasons of Saskatchewan. The interior lobby design was influenced by the prairie seasons and the northern Saskatchewan boreal forest. It included an illuminated ceiling inspired by ice-drips.
Construction began in 1961 and was completed in 1963. The SaskPower building is made up of 2300 tons of steel and 650,000 custom-made bricks. Twenty tradesmen were brought to Regina from Antonini & Sons in Italy to install the building’s glass and mosaic.
At the time of completion, the SaskPower Building was the tallest building in the downtown and its unique design makes a statement about Regina and Saskatchewan.
