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68 | DECEMBER 2018 CF Chinook Centre Food Court Modernization Vallon says, "Calgary has evolved into a sophisticated city, and we wanted to bring a fresh urban approach. The existing food court was a complex multi-level archi- tectural shell with an abundance of columns and oversized detailing, so our goal was to simplify the space with broad architectural strokes. This was achieved using a strong black and white palette accented with natural woods and grey tones." She adds that GH+A's design also called for wavy bulkheads to be straightened out and treated with a linear textured high gloss white tile; and tenant openings to be outlined in a elegant black quartz and thin large for- mat tile frame, which would allow each venue to stand out. New, simplified low walls in white glass mosaic tile would delineate each of the seating areas, and each area would feature its own common tables and booths in warm wood tones, with custom lighting. Sean Crawford, partner at Zeidler Architecture, says the first step in mod- ernization consisted of "assessing the court and peeling back layers to deter- mine its integrity – and apart from some water penetration and issues with some railings, it was in fairly decent shape." A full 3D scan was conducted of the food court and brought into Revit soft- ware "to establish exact existing heights, angles, and spaces," says Crawford. "This process, which took a matter of weeks, allowed us to generate precise drawings and saved us countless hours overall." The construction process presided over by Chris Boehmer, project man- ager at PCL Construction Management Inc., was divided into two main phases: demolishing the south side of the dining hall and vendor spaces then rebuilding while keeping the north side open to shoppers (a process that commenced in January of 2018); then opening the new south side and closing off the north side for demolition and upgrading. Most of the old décor was not reused, with one notable exception. "We absolutely loved the Louis Poulsen suspended vintage lights in spun alumi- num, so they were carefully restored, re-lamped, and re-distributed to light the seating areas, with the careful guid- ance of Gabriel MacKinnon Lighting Designers," says Vallon. A lot of PCL's work was conducted after hours to minimize shopper disrup- tion, and Crawford was impressed by the builders' ability to cope with any cir- cumstance. "PCL had only five months to complete phase one, and yet this was pulled off without any undue prob- lems," he says, adding that Designcore Engineering and mechanical consul- tants Smith + Andersen "deserve equal praise for doing a terrific job." As of early November the modern- ization was being prepped for opening, and Josh Thomson, VP, development at Cadillac Fairview, says, "Dining is an essential aspect of the overall shopping centre experience, and we are delighted to evolve the centre's food court into a signature CF dining hall where guests can enjoy culinary delights in a premium environment." Vallon echoes the sentiments of her project colleagues when she says, "The space is unrecognizable: it's clean, inviting, and hip yet classic. There was an outstanding collaboration between Cadillac Fairview, the designer, the architects, the lighting designers, and the contractors, and we are delighted with the final outcome." A PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY CADILLAC FAIRVIEW We're proud to partner with the City of Calgary on the Centennial Planetarium — an exciting and important adaptive re-use project. lemaytoker.com

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