Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1408886
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 1 | 53 GloveBox R EN D ER I N GS CO U RT E SY ZEH R G RO U P GLOVEBOX by ROBIN BRUNET W hat will the work environ- ment of the future look like? As far as Momentum Developments, KingSett Capital, and Zehr Group of Companies are con- cerned, it will look remarkably like their latest project, GloveBox, a strik- ing mixture of historic and new architecture currently being marketed as "where the traditional barriers between work, team building, and cel- ebration almost disappear." John MacDonald, president of Zehr Levesque Inc., says of the seven-sto- rey office complex, which is targeting LEED Gold certification, "It was an inte- gral part of the Garment Street District, a $250-million mixed-use project also developed by Momentum, KingSett, and Zehr." The first phase combines GloveBox's commercial floors with 11,000 square feet of retail space and 689 condominium units spread over three condo towers. A new road, Garment Street, connects these components. The project, which is pursuing Wired Score Silver Designation, is aligned with the City's broader brownfield remediation plan to repurpose former industrial and manufacturing sites. GloveBox encompassed the restora- tion of the former 100-year-old Huck Glove factory, and the development of an adjacent seven-storey build- ing whose top three storeys extend over the top of the factory to provide 145,000 square feet of office and com- mercial space, with ground level retail. Work commenced on the project in 2016, and Matt Bolen, principal, archi- tect at Edge Architects, says, "What followed was a collaborative design process between us, the developers, and heritage specialists at City Hall." Early on it was decided that the new structure flanking the factory would exhibit clean 21st-century lines: "Trying to replicate Huck's archi- tecture wouldn't have worked," says Bolen. "Input from heritage special- ists informed many of our massing decisions, such as cranking the new building back on the east side to give the factory a more prominent appearance." The architects also created a three- storey atrium between the factory and the new building, above which is a precast slab connecting the old factory roof to the new fourth floor. The atri- um's rusted steel/copper ceiling would extend to the exterior soffits of the buildings for a unifying effect. It was decided that the existing wood floor structure of the factory would be used as a permanent form- work for a new structural topping. "This would allow the existing struc- ture to accommodate the required structural loads of a Class A office building," says MacDonald, adding that incorporating the smaller factory into a new build meant that 30-by- 30 square foot grids could be created without interior columns – ideal for attracting tenants requiring space and amenities such as banks of wash- rooms and showers. Because the project targeted LEED Gold certification, sustainable design features included a high-effi- ciency HVAC system and a substantial vegetated green roof. "We also aban- doned our initial idea of making the new build a precast structure and switched to a fully glazed curtain wall, not only to achieve a high quality envelope, but also for easy mainte- nance," says Bolen. LOCATION 114 and 120 Victoria Street S., Kitchener, Ontario OWNER /DEVELOPER Momentum Partnership / KingSett Capital PROJECT MONITORS BPI Consultants ARCHITECT Edge Architects GENER AL CONTR ACTOR Zehr Group STRUCTUR AL CONSULTANT Jablonsky, AST and Partners Inc. MECHANICAL /ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT DEI & Associates L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECT GSP Group CIVIL CONSULTANT WalterFedy TOTAL SIZE 145,000 square feet TOTAL COST $120 million