Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/124234
courtesy City of Edmonton Clareview Community Recreation Centre And Clareview Library by Lawrence Herzog evised and built as part of the vision for a dynamic community hub, the Clareview Community Recreation Centre and Clareview Library are key to the City of Edmonton's new master plan for the area. The 344,644-square-foot complex (including an 87,069-square-foot existing arena) is designed to promote safe interaction and connectivity within the community, while providing a stateof-the-art expanded library, along with recreation and community support services. Situated just steps away from Clareview Station on the city's northeast Light Rail Transit (LRT) line, the $94-million centre is designed to engage and stimulate its patrons with multiple recreational opportunities. Patrons will enjoy an aquatic centre with diving and leisure pools, a fitness centre, walking/jogging track, multipurpose rooms, children's play spaces, a child-care centre and a library branch. This is the first time the City of Edmonton and the Edmonton Public Library are collaborating to build a branch library as part of the recreation centre. The project also incorporates and upgrades the existing adjacent Clareview Twin Arena and adds an Edmonton Catholic High School Completion Centre, the first of its kind in Edmonton. "The original proposal call was only for the building itself, but we wanted to manage the entire district park so we could position the various fields for the right orientation," says Brian Bengert, principal at Architecture Arndt Tkalcic Bengert. "The footprint that remained D dictated the shape of the building and how everything was put together. When you look at the horizontal layering, you can see that the design team very clearly played with horizontal elevations to make it all work." Stephen Teeple, principal with Teeple Architects Inc., associate architect on the project, says site influences provided both constraints and challenges. "The building is shaped by a soccer field pushing into its mass and a street that arcs over from the arena to the LRT. If you look at those renderings you can see that the building takes its shape from the bigger urban gestures, and brings it all together with a sculptural unity." The building configuration and design evolved through a series of workshops involving the architectural team, the City of Edmonton, stakeholders and the community. "We engaged with the community and listened," says Michael Schneider, program manager of recreation project delivery for the City of Edmonton. "Our team learned from other recently completed stand-alone facilities in the city such as Terwillegar, and leveraged that knowledge. " During the design process, five user groups provided input. "Every time a curve ball was thrown in, or a new layer added to the puzzle, it compelled everyone to focus more and come up with even better solutions," Bengert observes. Transparency of the main facade improves sightlines from inside out and outside in, while animating exterior spaces with the energy of the building. The library is at "the crescendo of the massing," as Teeple puts it. "It places the branch at an ideal location, close to parking with beautiful views overlooking Clareview Community Recreation Centre And Clareview Library p68-69Clareview.indd 69 the park and into the natatorium." Viewed from the Manning Freeway, or any of the surrounding vistas, the library's high, sloping form, inside and out, is meant to be an "attention-getter," Bengert says. "It's integrated very cleanly into the facility and is strong and dramatic." Frank Cavaliere, principal of structural engineering with Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd., says the geometry of the building proved quite a structural challenge. "The sloping exterior walls want to pull the building over and the aquatics and library spaces have only three interior supports, carrying nearly 50,000 square feet of roof area. The east and west runs of the track are cantilevered off of 40-foot tall columns and the east edge of the library space is cantilevered 15 feet into the aquatics." The sloped and bent roof planes created complicated ridges and valleys, which tested the team every step of the way, he says. "The project as a whole has been very challenging from a structural point of view, but the impact that the building will have in that neighbourhood will be tremendous." Anodized finishes and bronze-hued glass warm the appearance of the exterior, while the interior material palette includes bright modern colours and sculptured wood surfaces for contrast. Careful attention to HVAC and rigorous environmental controls ensure the project will achieve a minimum LEED Silver certification. The triple-glazed natatorium features energy-efficient displacement ventilation and heat recovery from the arena's rink freezing equipment and will provide in-floor heating for some of the activity rooms. "The team conducted detailed analysis of glazing and wall systems and implemented a stringent modelling process that determined the sweet spot to maintain architecture, while ensuring that we are LEED Silver," Bengert explains. "Edmonton is an environment where architects are encouraged to do their best," Teeple says. "The people from the library and the city have been helpful and demanding in a positive way." The district park space around the facility will be transformed with new sports fields, ball diamonds, spray park, playground and trails. Construction began in October 2011 and is proceeding on pace for a late spring/early summer 2014 opening. n LOCATION 3804-139 Avenue Edmonton OWNER/DEVELOPER City of Edmonton ARCHITECT Architecture Arndt Tkalcic Bengert ASSOCIATE ARCHITECT Teeple Architects Inc. GENERAL CONTRACTOR Clark Builders STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. MECHANICAL/civil/LEED CONSULTANT Stantec Consulting ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT AECOM LANDSCAPE CONSULTANT Earthscape Consultants TOTAL AREA 344,644 square feet TOTAL COST $94 million april 2013 /69 13-04-05 2:15 PM