Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1174518
78 | OCTOBER 2019 North Campus Infrastructure Project – BCIT North Campus Infrastructure Project – BCIT by ROBIN BRUNET T he British Columbia Institute of Technology's Integrated Project Team (IPT), best described as a multidisciplinary collaboration for efficiently realizing high per- formance, is widely credited for the success of the BCIT's North Campus Infrastructure Project, which in September wrapped up after three years of intensive work. The project encompassed a com- plete overhaul of the institution's Burnaby north campus utilities infra- structure (first installed in the 1960s) in order to support BCIT's master plan of adding as many as 10 new buildings over the next 20 years. Daniel Clement, BCIT's director of facilities and campus develop- ment, says, "The infrastructure was at – or past – the end of life, and if we were going to have a lot of new build- ings because of our campus master plan redevelopment, then they would have to plug into new electrical, storm drains, water and sewer lines, and many other components." Clement credits PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. "for suggesting we use the IPT delivery model. We agreed, because BCIT and PCL had just wrapped a similar job that wasn't IPT and were learning from our mistakes." During design development, PCL co- ordinated exploratory underground investigations with Stantec. This effort of physically locating and detail- ing the underground utilities greatly improved the information on the future construction drawings. Early on, it became evident that the project would achieve substantial time and cost savings by amalgam- ating two major components: the critical upgrading of BCIT's under- ground utilities and the creation of above-ground sustainability elements such as the new non-vehicular thor- oughfares and landscaping that would contribute to a cooler campus micro- climate – something the institute had been contemplating as a future initia- tive. "The idea was that since we were going to tear everything up, upgrade, and then put the 'top' back on, we should do the above-ground work all in one go," says Quin MacKenzie, who came onboard in 2016 as sustainable design lead at Stantec and is now proj- ect manager. BCIT undertook stakeholder engagement to determine the campus's community needs, goals, and issues. "For example, stakeholders wanted more bicycle routes, more pedestrian- oriented spaces, and more covered outdoor spaces," says MacKenzie. "What this resulted in was the trans- formation of English Street into English Walk, a pedestrian-friendly corridor connecting the east and west of the campus, as well as new cycling paths along Carey Avenue." Chad McPhee, project manager at PCL Constructors Westcoast, says, "One of the many benefits of everyone work- ing together under the IPT approach was that the overall timeframe of the project was reduced, which sig- nificantly reduced the day-to-day disruption to BCIT staff and students. "It was also beneficial for us to work with Stantec at the conceptual stage and provide constructability, costing, and scheduling advice before ulti- mately breaking ground in September of 2017 with the main underground civil work." Clear communication was crucial, given PCL's task of replacing the aging unit substations across the campus north of Goard Way and establish- ing new high voltage, low voltage, and telecommunications pathways. "The campus was to remain operational, so we had to perform the work in stages," says McPhee. "We provided detailed traffic management plans to different BCIT departments and stayed flexible in the event students or staff felt we were disruptive – and 99 percent of our work went according to expectations." Even later on, when PCL was obliged to abandon prescribed staging areas due to these areas being prepped for new construction, it wasn't too much of an imposition because by that point the bulk of the new underground services were installed. Included in the infrastructure upgrades is Canada's first Smart Power Microgrid, which MacKenzie describes as a feature "that allows BCIT to use solar and wind as forms of non-traditional energy and do it through the system to accommodate growth over time and reduce the potential for blackouts in extreme weather events." The landscaping development took heed of climate change projections and ensured that over 60 percent of new surface areas had a high solar reflec- tance index value to keep the surfaces cool in the presence of solar radiation. In April of 2019, BCIT became the first educational institution in Canada to receive the Envision Gold award for sustainable infrastructure in connection with the North Campus undertaking. "That was a huge hon- our made possible by the collaborative efforts of our partners," says Clement. To which McKenzie adds by way of conclusion, "Very rarely do we see projects of this magnitude proceed as intended, but this one came in under budget and ahead of schedule, and kudos to the IPT team for ensuring that the BCIT campus functions at optimal efficiency for decades to come." A LOCATION 3700 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby, B.C. OWNER/DEVELOPER British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) PROJECT MANAGER R.F. Binnie & Associates Ltd. ARCHITECT Stantec GENERAL CONTRACTOR PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. TOTAL SIZE 4 hectares TOTAL COST $47 million RENDERINGS COURTESY BRITISH COLUMBIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (BCIT) StevestonGlass_AWARD_1019.indd