Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/124234
1. Pavilions in the Park by Dan O'Reilly T 2. Tom Arban he Romans are considered to be the inventors of the swimming pool. Six indoor swimming pools with diving boards in 1830s London, however, are considered to be the first modern version of this recreational facility. It might be argued that for the next 150 years or so the design of pools deviated very little from the ones used by Victorianera Londoners. That's no longer true. Certainly older rectangular pools in windowless buildings are still being used. But the utilitarian pool has given way to bright, airy, aquatic centres that are sometimes stand alone structures, although often housed in multi-use complexes with other amenities such as arenas, meeting rooms and even libraries. At the forefront of that Cinderella-like transformation is MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects (MJMA), a Toronto firm that has specialized in sports and aquatic design since it was established 25 years ago. Usually set in parks, MJMA's buildings are characterized with a diversity of building materials, dynamic lines and a large amount of glazing which allows more natural light in during the day and creates a more welcome presence on dark winter nights. "Most of these facilities are nocturnal in nature. They're used more in the early morning and at night than during the day," says Ted Watson, one of the firm's five partners. The others are Andrew Filarski, Robert Allen, Viktors Jaunkalns and David Miller. The last two founded the firm in 1988 along with John MacLennan, who is now retired. In their first venture MacLennan, Jaunkalns, and Miller were awarded the design of a swimming pool in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. "We have probably designed at least 50 aquatic facilities since then," says Jaunkalns. The firm's focus on design excellence and innovation in recreation design has resulted in more than 50 national awards, including the Governor General's Medal in Architecture, Canadian Architect Award, Pool and Hot Tub Council of Canada (PHTCC) awards, and the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) Award of Excellence. In 2008, MJMA also received an unprecedented four out of 10 awards given by the Athletic Business awards program, which receives sport and recreation projects from across the globe. Now the firm has 35 employees and has projects right across Canada, usually in joint ventures with local architectural firms. "The practice has evolved a strong commitment to creating civic oriented buildings that provide legible public space." By that he means aquatic and sports centres aren't just places for exercising. Rather, they have a broader mandate of serving as the social heart of a community 3. or neighbourhood; a place where people go Shai Gill k Photos 1 and 2: Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre, Edmonton, AB. Photos 3 and 4: Regent Park Aquatic Centre, Toronto, ON. Pavilions in the Park p78-81 Pavillion in the Park.indd 79 to socialize and meet friends and neighbours. "Municipalities see the value of facilities as community hubs," explains Watson. Five of the firm's recently completed projects can be used to illustrate this philosophy. One is in downtown Edmonton, the second is in Toronto, and the other three are in the fast-growing suburban cities of Mississauga and Brampton Ontario. While each had its own unique challenges, the $96-million, 220,000-square-foot, LEED Silver-targeted Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium was the most expensive and the most complicated from a design, construction and logistical standpoint, says Watson. Designed in joint venture with HIP Architects (now part of Kasian Architects), the centre serves the joint use needs of the city, the Edmonton Eskimos Football Club, and the public at large, and is intended to rejuvenate the surrounding residential communities. Shaped in a triangular configuration at the south end of the stadium, the centre includes a 60,000-square-foot aquatic hall, a three-storey community recreation centre, a 20,000-squarefoot fitness centre, 30,000 square feet of community space, a 80,000-square-foot field house, and 30,000 square feet of new administration and operations space for the Eskimos. Located next to the outdoor practice field, the field house anchors the western side of the site and is the team's new home and practice facility. The gymnasium and the Eskimo administration and operation spaces open outward to the inside of the vast stadium. Fronted by a large urban plaza near Stadium Road, the main road in the area, the aquatic hall on the east side is the public face of the facility, says Viktors Jaunkalns. "Featuring a 'prow-like profile' roofline, the hall has large expanses of floor-to-ceiling glass which act as advertisement billboards that invite views inward," he adds. A number of factors were the catalyst for the development. Constructed for Edmonton's hosting of the 1978 Commonwealth Games, the 60,000-seat Commonwealth Stadium has a "monumental presence" in the area and is located on the subway line just one stop northeast of downtown, says Watson. Still, it had been suffering "from the ills associated with limited event-based use and vacant social conditions," says Jaunkalns, adding that this has impacted the surrounding residential neighbourhoods. The recreation centre is one component of the city's ambitious renewal program intended to alleviate those conditions. For their part, the Eskimos had been hampered by limited training space and offsite administrative offices. While securing separate project funding, they were interested in partnering with the city because they recognized that public good could be gained by joining with the city to create a facility that was greater than the sum of its parts, says Jaunkalns. Of course, bringing the development on stream was not an easy undertaking. The architectural design challenge was to ensure the centre was "very much its own thing" that never dominated or was overpowered by the stadium, says Watson. No less daunting was the fast-tracked structural design, specifically the field house, says Frank Cavaliere, principal at Read Jones Christoffersen, the structural consultant. Spanning over half a football field, there had to be a 68-metre-wide clear playing surface, a minimum 14-metre-high space from the ground level to the underside of the roof and a suspended running track . As a result, the 2.9- to 5.6-metre thick trusses had to be placed at the perimeter of the building, says Cavaliere. Nevertheless, construction was underway just six months after the commencement of the detailed design. Clark Builders was the construction manager overseeing the fast-tracked three-phase undertaking each of which was divided into a series of "rolling" or staggered tenders. Dictating that timetable was the need to complete the field house for Edmonton's hosting of the 2010 Grey Cup, says MJMA's Ted Watson. Fully completed and opened in the spring of 2012, the april 2013 /79 13-04-05 2:22 PM