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J U N E 2 0 2 1 | 87 Vancouver Fire Hall No. 5 and YWCA Pacific Spirit Terrace P H OTO G R A P H Y BY A N D R E W L AT R EI L L E /CO U RT E SY J O H N S TO N DAV I DS O N A RC H I T EC T U R E A N D P L A N N I N G I N C . VANCOUVER FIRE HALL NO. 5 AND YWCA PACIFIC SPIRIT TERRACE by NATALIE BRUCKNER T he new Vancouver Fire Hall No. 5 and Y WCA Pacific Spirit Terrace project on East 54th and Kerr Street has achieved the seem- ingly impossible – bringing together two extremely different user groups and providing each of them with their own identity in a innovative mixed-use building that addresses the challenges of densification. When the City of Vancouver and Y WCA Metro Vancouver approached Johnston Davidson Architecture with the idea to build a new fire hall that would sit below affordable housing for single mothers and their children in Vancouver, the architecture firm wel- comed it with open arms. "We love to grab our arms around all the information we have and pass it on; it's about creating a unique response to the conditions you have in front of you and we were lucky to have such a great team, all with their own requirements, but all open to address- ing challenges to ensure everyone was happy," says Kim Johnston, architect at Johnston Davidson Architecture and Planning Inc. Having already had vast experience with mixed-use buildings and design- ing dozens of stations across B.C. and Alberta, the architects took all their knowledge and worked closely with the various user-groups to create a project that would end up setting a precedent for future public building projects. With the former 1952 No. 5 fire hall having reached the end of its service life both programmatically and seismi- cally, the replacement of the hall was long overdue. It was time to provide the community with an innovative, colocation facility that would serve the needs of residents safely and effectively. The seven-storey building (with one level below grade for parking and storage) gently transitions from a functional fire hall on the lower two levels to four levels of housing above, containing two and three-bedroom homes. "For the exterior materials we took a contemporary look at using the masonry, which is a traditional mate- rial from a fire hall perspective and pays homage to that history, while on the upper four floors we clad it in Superpanel," explains Johnston. A high-performance envelope wraps the reinforced concrete walls with a 30-centimetre thick layer of mineral wood board and a tight air barrier. Thermal bridging is thwarted by structural thermal breaks installed where concrete and steel elements penetrate the envelope, in particular between two thermal zones consisting of warm offices and living spaces and a cooler apparatus bay and training tower. At the connection points, the design team specified concrete- to-concrete and concrete-to-steel thermal breaks, both which maintain structural integrity while reduc- ing heat loss at the penetration. The thermal breaks also help prevent for- mation of condensation and mould. Additionally, because of the fire hall requirements, the building had to be designed to post-disaster stan- dards in order to withstand seismic forces 1.5 times those required for a regular structure. Inside, the 12,000-square-foot fire hall – which won a Gold award in the Firehouse Station Design Awards 2020 in the Shared Facilities category – includes three apparatus bays on the ground level as well as supporting spaces including a community room which doubles as a VFRS training room. "The firehall has been divided into operational spaces and quarter spaces, which was important for decontami- nation. The hose tower, which features beautiful graphics, is the line that sep- arates the quarters and community room to the left and the bays to the right. Above that we have a kitchen, dayroom and dorms, as well as an out- door patio space," says Johnston. While the entrance to the fire hall is located on East 54th Street, the entrance to the Y WCA housing above is accessed via Kerr Street. "We wanted to keep the entrances separate to give each group their own identity," explains Johnston. The 36,000-square-feet of housing features 32 suites as well as amenity rooms and a communal rooftop out- door space with urban agriculture opportunities, picnic tables, and a play area that work in conjunction with a separate entrance, providing the hous- ing occupants with their own identity and security. "The housing was all done in post disaster wood frame, which had to meet the high building limit. It was definitely tricky making sure all the services worked, and challenging from a contractor's perspective, but everyone worked really well together to make that happen," says Johnston. Sustainability was key through- out the building. A focus was placed on accessibility to natural lighting, exterior views, and operable windows to improve livability for users and reduce energy demand. Bright colours and natural lighting feature heav- ily throughout the building and are integrated to work to improve the well-being of fire crews as well. Completed in December 2019, ten- ants were ready to move in, and the response to the success of this rather unconventional mixed-use building has been overwhelming. Johnston credits the amazing team involved for helping to make this dream become a realty. "While at first it may seem rather unusual to have these two user groups together, when you think about it, safety is inherent in the arrangement of the two typologies and somehow it makes it the perfect part- nership. Credit has to be given to the City of Vancouver for having the vision to see that opportunity and the Y WCA, who were a pleasure to work with." Johnston however is most proud of being able to work on a project where all user groups' needs were met and are happy. "It's great to see people not only the people higher up happy, but those on the ground too," she says. It's fair to say that the Vancouver Fire Hall No. 5 and Y WCA Pacific Spirit Terrace project is proof of what forward-thinking governments and non-profits can achieve together to address the housing crisis. A LOCATION 3090 E 54th Ave, Vancouver, B.C. OWNER /DEVELOPER YWCA Metro Vancouver / City of Vancouver ARCHITECT Johnston Davidson Architecture and Planning Inc. GENER AL CONTR ACTOR Mierau Contractors Ltd. STRUCTUR AL CONSULTANT Herold Engineering Ltd. MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Flow Consulting Group Inc. ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Roy Campbell Ltd. L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Greenway Landscape Architecture TOTAL SIZE 46,000 square feet TOTAL COST $25 million