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AUGUST 2018 | 63 Aldergrove Credit Union Community Centre RENDERING COURTESY HDR/CEI ARCHITECTURE ASSOCIATES, INC. Aldergrove Credit Union Community Centre by PETER STENNING LOCATION 27032 Fraser Highway, Langley, B.C. OWNER Township of Langley OWNER'S REPRESENTATIVE Turnbull Construction Project Managers Ltd. ARCHITECT HDR/CEI Architecture Associates, Inc. GENERAL CONTRACTOR Graham Construction STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Krahn Engineering Ltd. MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Rocky Point Engineering Ltd. ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Jarvis Engineering Consultants Ltd. CIVIL/LANDSCAPE CONSULTANT van der zalm + associates inc. AQUATICS & MECHANICAL ENGINEERING SPECIALIST Water Technology Inc. TOTAL COST $39.48 million K icking off the revitalization of any downtown core, even in a rural community such as the Township of Langley's Aldergrove, is not an easy task: careful consideration must be made as to what type of facility will set the standard for the revitalization and attract people. But in imagining an Aldergrove of the future, the Township came up with the idea for a facility that was not only unique to the community but also to the province – a fully-outfitted commu- nity centre with a 500-plus seat arena and NHL-sized rink, fitness facilities, and indoor walking track, joined to an extensive outdoor swimming area. This combination of community cen- tre and waterpark – to be named the Aldergrove Credit Union Community Centre – would include water slides, a current channel, and a wave pool with a large movie screen and, under a massive wood canopy allowing for winter usage, a large hot tub, a six-lane competition pool, and lessons pool (all of which would be heated by a BTU boiler plant and by solar panels as well as excess energy produced by cooling the arena's ice rink). Shortly after ground broke on the project in February of 2017, Township of Langley Mayor Jack Froese gave thanks to a federal grant of up to $9.88 million, which would be applied in increments as work progressed; this, along with the Township's approved budget, would allow the facility to be built as intended without any addi- tional cost to taxpayers or cutting back on features. A year prior, the Township had retained Graham Construction and HDR/CEI Architecture Associates, Inc. to bring the Aldergrove Credit Union Community Centre to life under a design-build delivery method and by heavily reworking an initial design concept. Some of the changes included consolidating the seating arrangement in the arena, which would result in a narrower building overall – beneficial, considering the site was flanked on either side by a bowling alley and com- mercial real estate. Other changes included major improvements to the walking track (among other things, blind spots were eliminated) and the generous addition of wood detailing, both inside and out, in order to make the intended tilt-up construction visually attractive. Colour would play an important role for the interior ambiance. The Township opted for a minimalist colour palette overall for low-main- tenance purposes, but the architects augmented this with blue (echoing the aquatic portion of the project) for handrails, columns, guardrails, and other elements. Yellow seating would adorn the hockey rink to reflect the community hockey team's colours, and the pool rooms would be multi- coloured for a sense of vibrancy. David Mick, key project architect, says the township and stakeholders "were open to our ideas and very much wanted something special, because they had a clear idea of how this facility would contribute to an evolving down- town core." Mark Hentze, HDR/CEI's VP rec- reation and culture, adds that some of the design language was taken from the Langley Events Centre, a 322,312-square-foot facility that accommodates sporting, recreation, and entertainment events to create a familiar civic presence. However, combining a community centre with a water park was unique, and one way the architects integrated the two was 8:49 AM

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