Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/137453
photos: Latreille Delage Photography Oasis by Jerry Eberts oquitlam's newest residential tower is also its tallest. Towering 42 floors into the sky, Oasis is being touted as a refreshingly new place to live or work, with amenities to suit any taste. Headquartered in Vancouver, the Onni Group is owner of the Oasis project. Not content with merely being a landlord, Onni was also developer and general contractor on this impressive project. The company has built more than 5,000 homes in the past decade and owns and manages around five million square feet of commercial property and rental apartments. Onni continues to expand and diversify throughout North America. Beau Jarvis is VP of development for the Onni Group. He says the process for building Oasis took about four years; two years of planning were followed by two years of construction and finishing. However, during the recent economic downturn the project was halted for most of a year. Once business began to pick up again, Oasis was back on track. Jarvis says today the condominium market in Coquitlam is robust and sales have been brisk. "There has been good transit planning in the area," says Jarvis, referring to the nearby Evergreen Line, a new rapid transit line that connects Coquitlam to Vancouver and is scheduled for completion in 2016. "Coquitlam has solidified its urban plan and has been great to work with. We had a good team of consultants, including signing architect Martin Bruckner. "Our land use was quite typical for what we wanted to do," says Jarvis. "We wanted to include lots of amenities and to take advantage of the beautiful views. It's really something to see Mount Baker in the distance and the North Shore mountains. It has worked out as well as we expected." Honor Roan, project manager of IBI/HB Architects Inc., says the mix of groundfloor office and retail space and the upper-floor residential units – with an extensive amenity space on top of the fifth-floor podium – makes this project unique among buildings in the downtown area of Coquitlam. "We got involved in September 2006," says Roan. "We came up with a lot of options to show the client and plans were finalized pretty quickly. The whole project went really smoothly." John Markulin, a partner with Vancouver's John Bryson & Partners, was structural engineer for the project. He says Oasis involved a little more planning time to make sure all the components fit. "Because of the commercial aspects on the ground floor, we had to consider the different use requirements," says Markulin. "Residential layouts have different needs than an office, for example. We did more upfront planning to make the various components work together." Burnaby-based SRC Engineering Consultants Ltd. was in charge of both electrical and mechanical on the Oasis project. Dave Gill, electrical consultant, says Oasis was a pretty standard project for his company. "It was a good team," says Gill. "We've worked with the same team several times before." Senga Lindsay, principal with Senga Landscape Architecture Inc., also had to take into account the office/retail and residential components of the project. "The challenge was the fifth-floor podium, on top of a huge garage," says Lindsay. "We wanted to have as many activities and possibilities as we could fit. It was a tight C Oasis p76-77Oasis.indd 77 space, but we managed to get it all. We have both passive and active features, including a water feature. "We looked at the landscaping as a year-round thing," says Lindsay. "We planted birch tree alleys for the winter and ornamental grasses that are seasonal. It really is an all-season space." Lindsay says she was really impressed with Onni. "Some developers try to strip down your concepts. Onni always tried to run things past me if there had to be changes made to the plans. I was always kept in the loop." Building amenities include a professionally-equipped fitness centre and a yoga studio. There is also a games room, a meeting and business centre, a social lounge and a media room. The landscaped rooftop garden atop the podium boasts a putting green, children's play area, outdoor barbecue spot and an outdoor pool and hot tub. Onni intended Oasis to be "the crown jewel of Coquitlam." Certainly the condos are beautifully appointed with floor-to-ceiling windows that provide views all around the Lower Mainland, as well as a top-down view of Club Oasis and the landscaped gardens. Oasis is constructed of reinforced concrete for durability, ease of maintenance and quietness. All suites are prewired for security systems and each home and common area has a fire sprinkler system. Such added safeguards as a lobby enterphone system with a security camera, well-lit under- and aboveground parking with video surveillance and security gates make Oasis a safe and restful place to dwell. n Location 2955 Atlantic Avenue, Coquitlam, B.C. Owner/developer/ general contractor Onni Group Architect IBI/HB Architects Inc. Structural consultant John Bryson & Partners Mechanical/ electrical consultant SRC Engineering Consultants Ltd. Landscape architect Senga Landscape Architecture Inc. Total area 290,000 square feet Total Construction cost Undisclosed june 2013 /77 13-05-30 2:34 PM