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52 | DECEMBER 2018 Civic Employees Legacy Tower (CELT) – NorQuest College PHOTOGRAPHY BY DOUBLESPACE PHOTOGRAPHY/COURTESY GEC ARCHITECTURE Civic Employees Legacy Tower (CELT) – NorQuest College F or many staff, faculty, and students, it's as if it has been standing tall forever, but the Civic Employees Legacy Tower (CELT) is really a renewal to NorQuest College in Edmonton; and together with the new Singhmar Centre for Learning (SCFL) forms a welcoming entry to this fast- growing institute of higher learning. In fact, both SCFL and CELT were critically important projects, the for- mer (which opened late last year) being the first expansion of the college in nearly five decades. As Jodi L. Abbott, NorQuest's president and CEO, explained to media in early 2018, "From 2013 to 2017, we have become a first choice insti- tution, increasing our student population by 72 percent from 10,220 learners to the 17,592 we have today." The original building that would become CELT had gained a reputation for being outdated in its delivery of education, with closed off and ineffi- cient spaces evident in each of its eight levels. But instead of demolishing and beginning anew, NorQuest College determined that only a thorough reno- vation of the interior was required. Tracey Didluck, project manager for the University of Alberta/NorQuest College, explains, "The building was a typical 1970s Edmonton tower in that it was an extremely well built con- crete structure, but it had received a series of renovations that closed off a lot of floors, contributed to a confining atmosphere, and resulted in inefficient spaces. Our goal was to open every- thing up, make everything brighter, improve flow, and maximize occu- pancy." The renovated interior would accommodate multiple classrooms, laboratories, and an innovation studio, as well as staff and faculty offices. Didluck adds that the development of SCFL, although completed on time and on budget under a fixed price contract with PCL, "led us to the realization that a construction management delivery would better accommodate the flex- ibility required to renovate an occupied facility with a deconstruction/recon- struction strategy driven by the decant limitations and expanding functional program enrolment." After extensive preparation, the college and GEC decided to break the project into two phases, with the first phase consisting of stripping floors four, five, six, and seven down to the concrete structure. "Since CELT was government funded we were obliged to commit to a fairly tight sched- ule," says GEC partner Peter Osborne. "Essentially, we spent a great deal of effort finding extra space in the floor plans, ways to activate the stairs, and strategies to take pressure off the ele- vators, while at the same time opening them up." GEC associate Lacey Pearn adds, "One restriction was that we couldn't change the eight-foot ceiling heights of each level to any great degree, because it was determined early on that the mechanical systems would remain intact." Originally, each level had two com- pletely enclosed corridors, and this, along with scissor stairs made things very disorienting for people, says Osborne. "By comparison, our design featured student lounges with access to exterior windows and active corri- dors, which helped bring natural light deep into the facility." Not all the design choices would require massive demolition and recon- struction. "We kept the scissor stairs and colour coded them for better way- finding," says Pearn, to which Osborne adds, "Colour was an important part of our design approach. For example, each student floor has a feature tile wall 35-feet long and nine-feet tall, this being the first thing people would see when they stepped off the elevators. The wall tiles would be arranged in a herringbone pattern, with different coloured accent tiles for each level act- ing as a subtle form of wayfinding." Careful attention was paid to mate- rial selection. "We used lots of textured fabric, large wood tiles, white walls to offset colours, and a repetition of the herringbone pattern in frostings and screenings to create lively spaces that would be sophisticated – rather than the kitschy ambiance seen in many col- lege buildings," says Pearn. Lighting played an important role in helping create a sense of space. "We installed LED uplighting on top of the lockers in the corridors, aimed at the ceiling, and this helped enhance the perception of volume," adds Pearn. Didluck notes that the construction of SCFL had included a grand entrance that would eventually connect both buildings at the main and second levels (the latter achieved by a walkway). This inspired GEC to create a main interior common space for CELT as a physical connection to the new entrance. Chandos Construction began the first phase demolition in 2017 follow- ing an elaborate and meticulously planned decant of students to the lower levels. "A lot of the work was done at night to minimize disruption, and we used a loading dock as a stag- ing area, with three to four bins at a time taking the debris from the upper levels," says Didluck. David Addison, project director, Chandos Construction, says among the many challenges facing his crew was "the replacement of all the windows – 700 in total – in their existing frames with clearer, high-performance glaz- ing. This had to be completed by April of 2018, and thanks to careful preplan- ning we were able to go in and replace each one in about an hour's time." Addison adds that BIM modelling was used to avoid clashes during con- struction, "and this combined with other systems has enabled us to work consistently. Downtime on this project simply isn't an option." Derek Ciezki, partner, SMP Engineering, was charged with upgrading and replacing as well as developing all the electrical and tech- nical systems. "We brought in a cost consultant to preside over every- thing we did," he says. "The challenges are numerous in part because all the mechanics and electrical tie in with the Singhmar Centre; plus, systems such as fire safety haven't been substantially upgraded for decades." As of October of 2018, work crews had commenced phase two and were demolishing a portion of the basement. "Thanks to careful planning and great communication between all parties, we remain on schedule and have not run into any major roadblocks," says Didluck. "Looking ahead, we're very excited about the role the completed project will play in enhancing the pro- file of NorQuest College." A LOCATION 10215 108 Street NW, Edmonton, Alberta OWNER/DEVELOPER NorQuest College ARCHITECT GEC Architecture GENERAL CONTRACTOR Chandos Construction STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Entuitive MECHANICAL CONSULTANT AME Consulting Group ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT SMP Engineering TOTAL SIZE 236,698 square feet TOTAL COST $40 million (projected budget) by ROBIN BRUNET Bay Drywall.indd MJL Engineering.indd

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