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DECEMBER 2019 | 53 Pickering Operations Centre PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY CITY OF PICKERING Pickering Operations Centre by ROBIN BRUNET T he new $28-million Pickering Operations Centre is not only that city's most expensive capi- tal project in over three decades: it reinvents the way public works depart- ments operate and are perceived by the general public. Brian Duffield, division head, opera- tions for the City of Pickering, explains, "Long gone are the days when pub- lic works consists solely of shovels in the ground. It's a technically sophisti- cated undertaking in the 21st century, and when it was time to replace our old public works building we wanted a facility that was clean and sophisti- cated, to reflect what we do." The existing operations centre was constructed in the early 1970s and by 2012 had reached capacity and was unable to accommodate future growth. As such, it was decided to locate a new operations centre on a 25-acre site pur- chased by the city in 2012. Geoff Miller, principal at RDH Architects (RDHA), says with regards to providing public service workers with the best possible environment, "Giving them more doesn't mean the budget has to be bigger. The first step is to make sure you're following basic urban design principles. The new building creates a strong street edge, with no parking in front, lots of trans- parency to the street, and views into the offices and the main boardroom, giving it some animation. There is good quality landscaping, including green swales in the parking lot; and the pub- lic-facing fencing around the works yard is a more attractive product than standard chain link." RDHA first won the contract in 2012 and master planned the entire site, including an adjacent new indoor soc- cer club and a shared parking lot. "The operations building went through a number of design studies," says Miller. "However, things were paused by the City, and when the project came back online in 2016 – after the completion of the soccer facility – the program was more compact. We were able to follow exactly the same overall site planning strategy and move the project for- ward to tender very fast, due to all the groundwork that had been laid earlier." For both the exterior and inte- rior of the building, good quality and cost-effective materials with a contem- porary appearance were needed. "The charcoal metal siding is a common pre- finished vertical plank product, but it is esthetically elevated when paired with small accent areas of contrasting composite metal panels and carefully arranged window openings in struc- tural silicone glazed curtain wall," says Miller. "Inside is quite stripped down with fairly standard office finishes – drywall, storefront glazing, suspended ceilings, and porcelain tile – but it comes down to being judicious and careful in the composition of accent walls and solid versus void." The architects carried a sense of transparency throughout the entire interior, in order to improve safety and ensure everyone had easy access to daylight. "Traditional operations cen- tre design has shown little concern for the quality of the spaces where mechanics, machinists and other tradespeople work, but we tried hard to make those spaces nice places as well as durable," says Miller. Duffield was particularly impressed by the design's attention to detail. "One LOCATION 1955 Clements Road, Pickering, Ontario OWNER/DEVELOPER City of Pickering ARCHITECT RDH Architects (RDHA) GENERAL CONTRACTOR Aquicon Construction Company Ltd. STRUCTURAL/MECHANICAL/ ELECTRICAL/CIVIL CONSULTANT exp LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT NAK Design Strategies Inc. TOTAL SIZE 123,000 square feet (53,000 s.f. municipal facility; 42,000 s.f. warehouse/distribution facility; 28,000 s.f. vehicle storage building) TOTAL COST $28 million example was 19 translucent overhead doors that bring natural light into the shop spaces and help make these areas pleasant places to work," he says. "A smaller but equally important exam- ple was RDHA designing mechanical ventilation for the lockers, which is so beneficial to workers who must go out in all kinds of weather." Of the overhead doors Miller says, "They are mostly translucent poly- carbonate panels with a glass strip at eye level. The polycarbonate provides lots of diffused daylight in the main- tenance shops, which is perfect for that kind of work because there are no glare issues. In addition, since the panels are lightweight and stack in a compact cassette when raised, they don't eat up ceiling space or block ven- tilation equipment and lighting, and they open and close quickly." Aquicon Construction Company Ltd. began construction on the facility in July of 2017, and Duffield describes the process as "very straightforward, no undue issues or challenges, and we benefitted from this being a greenfield site with good soil conditions." As of November, staff had occupied the new Pickering Operations Centre for three months, "and they love it," says Duffield. "Pickering is slated for significant economic and residential growth, and this new facility enables us to streamline and strengthen our public works operations so that we continue to offer unparalleled service and an enhanced quality of life to those who live, work, and play here." A 1:55 PM 8:44 AM 10:51 AM

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