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FEBRUA RY 2019 | 65 Orillia Recreation Centre RENDERINGS COURTESY MJMA Orillia Recreation Centre by ROBIN BRUNET T he residents of Orillia, located an hour north of Toronto, have long wanted a recreation centre to complement the growing range of ame- nities in the Sunshine City; and in fact, "We recognized the need as far back as the 1980s and originally planned a cen- tre on a brownfield site," according to Kent Guptill, director of facilities and special projects for the City of Orillia. Almost 40 years later, the Orillia Recreation Centre is by far the larg- est project of its kind to ever happen in Guptill's community, with the 110,000-square-foot complex boasting a massive aquatic centre (one of the largest in Ontario), a unique three-storey open concept for the fitness area, two FIBA sized basketball courts, a pre-school room, office space, and much more. MJMA in collaboration with the city have created a deceptively simple rectangular form augmented by brick veneer (in keeping with the masonry that dominates other Orillia build- ings), with a north face composed mostly of glazing. The project underwent several major changes during its long gesta- tion period. "When the initial location didn't work out, the project was picked up again about six years ago at a dif- ferent site," says Guptill. "Then, about four years ago we had a new city coun- cil who moved it back to the brownfield site where a foundry once stood in the hopes the facility would help rejuve- nate our downtown core." Faced with extensive site remedi- ation, the developers and engineers hit upon a viable solution for the proj- ect. "The decision was made to have the facility sit four metres above the ground on 1,200 geopier foundations, with gravel in each of those geopiers ram-driven down about 35 feet," says Ian Mountfort, principal at Blackwell Structural Engineers. A protective clay membrane would be installed one metre below the entire site. Robert Allen, principal at MJMA, says that raising the building greatly influenced the design, "but in a good way, beginning with the recreation centre having a bigger stature, even though a tremendous amount of fill had to be imported to build up the topog- raphy. The increased elevation would also give users terrific views from the indoor space. Additionally, the cre- ation of a berm in front of the parking area would allow people on West Street south to see the recreation centre but not the parking lot." Viktors Jaunkalns, principal at MJMA, says the idea behind the three- storey open-air fitness area (with a running track on the upper perimeter) "was to create a big space within the centre of the facility. Overall, our inten- tion for the interior was to have clear views from one program to the other, and this open concept required lots of skylights on the roof and windows along the base of the building, in addi- tion to the north face glazing." This space also allows for public functions. In keeping with the facility's multi- use function, the architects designed a movable floor for the 25-metre, eight-lane pool. "This was a perforated plastic floor on a stainless steel scis- sor frame that would allow the pool to accommodate whatever water sport was required," says Jaunkalns. The architects designed the entrance to be a large covered drop-off augmented by a huge sign of the word "Orillia" rendered in steel, "to honour the site's industrial past," says Allen. "The brick facade supporting the build- ing above combined with a series of cedar soffits would enhance the wel- coming appeal of the entry." Jeffrey Ng, senior electrical proj- ect manager for Smith + Andersen, notes some of the measures imple- mented increased functionality in all circumstances. "In the event of a natu- ral disaster, the building will need to serve as a relief centre, so the electri- cal infrastructure and systems had to be designed in a way that will keep the facility running for weeks. This was achieved by splitting up the emergency electrical distribution to account for the gym, main entrance, ground floor washrooms, ground floor corridors, reception, some administrative spaces, and the heating system. These areas can be connected to an external emer- gency generator if required." Ng also notes the centre's energy efficiencies, "with LED light fixtures including in back of house areas, will be controlled through occupancy sen- sors or daylight sensors. These sensors will operate on a daily schedule, in conjunction with a centralized lighting control system." On the mechanical side, Smith + Andersen project manager Nicole Rebello also points out the project team's commitment to sustainability. "You can see this commitment through the inclusion of design features such as heat recovery sections in the variable air volume air handlers for the gym and fitness areas." Rebello explains that these air han- dlers will "enable the system to reclaim excess heat from exhaust air streams, repurposing it to heat the supply air and maintain space conditions. A por- tion of the reclaimed exhaust heat from the pool air handler will also be used to provide additional heating for the pool water, reducing energy usage [and potentially reducing utility costs]." Rebello adds that the central boiler plant has four high-efficiency boil- ers, which will service the air handling units, the main pool heaters, and the perimeter radiation. Lee Curto, senior project manager at The Atlas Corporation, calls the idea of raising the facility on geopiers an economical solution. "We installed a membrane just below the building to seal it from contamination, and above that we put in a ventilation system to disperse any gases," says Curto. While elements such as the huge steel trusses needed for the open gym and pool areas were a major part of the construction process, by January Curto's team of up to 60 workers were installing windows and interior masonry, on schedule. With MJMA also responsible for the design of an adjacent 21-acre nature park, Guptill views the Orillia Recreation Centre as "a remarkable project for our city, and a catalyst for other redevelopment when we stage our grand opening this summer. It's taken decades to reach this point, but the effort was well worth it." A LOCATION 255 West Street South, Orillia, Ontario OWNER/DEVELOPER City of Orillia ARCHITECT MJMA GENERAL CONTRACTOR The Atlas Corporation STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Blackwell Structural Engineers MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL/ AUDIO VISUAL CONSULTANT Smith + Andersen TOTAL SIZE 110,000 square feet TOTAL COST $53.69 million 8:25 AM

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