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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 | 69 The YMCA at The David Braley Vaughan Centre P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y Y M C A O F G R E AT ER TO RO N TO THE YMCA AT THE DAVID BRALEY VAUGHAN CENTRE by NATALIE BRUCKNER T he City of Vaughan, in the northern region of Greater Toronto, is one of the most rap- idly growing suburban municipalities in Canada. In fact, Provincial and Regional forecasts see Vaughan reach- ing a population of 416,600 people by 2031. In response to this, the City of Vaughan, alongside its development partners, have been extremely proac- tive in building the largest and most ambitious development in the City's his- tory – a new 442-acre urban core called Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC). At its heart, the new state-of-the-art recre- ation facility combines the efforts of the YMCA of Greater Toronto, in partner- ship with City of Vaughan Recreation and Vaughan Public Libraries (VPL). "About 10 years ago we recognized this as a rapidly growing region," explains Alex Versluis, SVP, property management and development at the YMCA of Greater Toronto. Working closely with SmartCentres (the area's developer), the team at YMCA of Greater Toronto found a way to secure a sizable piece of land and co-created a building in the heart of VMC, just steps away from the new TTC subway station and York Region Bus Terminal. It would become home to the City's newest recreation venue – Vaughan Studios & Event Space, VPL's latest branch – VMC Library and VMC Express – and the two-sto- rey, 77,000-square-foot YMCA at The David Braley Vaughan Centre. "To be in the podium of an office tower afforded us many opportunities for programmatic crossover," says Ryan Mitchell, associate at MJMA Architecture & Design. "The exterior shell, designed in conjunction with Diamond Schmitt for SmartCentres, was focused on maximizing the amount of internal light, connecting spaces to the exterior, while also promoting maximum vis- ibility of the program spaces within. There is a great internal dynamism to the space, felt from the exterior." Inside the building, the YMCA space contains: a full-sized gym- nasium; a fully-equipped aquatics centre with a 25-metre lap pool and program pool with a hydraulic floor; a individual conditioning room with cardio and weight equipment; and an innovative and high-qual- ity, licensed childcare centre. "There are many ways to arrive – by subway, bus, car, or bike – and on arrival visitors will see this beauti- ful crisp building before entering into the front door where they will be welcomed by a YMCA staff member behind the desk," says Versluis. "Up to the right they will see the library and a very visible stairway that acts as a beautiful centrepiece, taking them up to the second level library and the city recreation space on the third level." Versluis continues: "As you look down the lobby there is a living wall to the right and a beautiful viewing area of the pool. There are also five chang- erooms, including a large universal one, with lockers and beautiful fin- ishes. Head up the stairs and you see an incredible health and fitness centre with wood flooring and ceiling, as well as the conditioning space and a large fitness studio. There is also a large outdoor patio beside the studio that will be open in the Fall. All the spaces come back together to the pool deck." The living wall that Versluis speaks of has been supplied by Nedlaw and is truly quite something. "It is integrated with the buildings mechanical system and gives the whole front atrium a dif- ferent type of appeal," says Matthew Aquino, principal at JR Certus Construction Co. Ltd. Every element has been designed to provide transparency, flexibility, durability, safety and security, and also gives an amazing flow to the space. "We have a dynamic interiors team at MJMA who work closely with proj- ect teams to develop a consistency of design. A key driver for the project was to keep spaces open, connected, and simple, which in turn allows for higher quality, robust finishes," says Mitchell. Aquino also compliments the thought that has gone into the choice of materials: "There is a lot of alumi- num composite panels on the exterior of the building, a metal ceiling built into an acoustical CNC ceiling, lots of glass that creates privacy in cer - tain areas but also transparency, and a substantial amount of millwork inside. There is an exposed Douglas fir roof deck in the gym and pool, which is part of the structure of the building, as well as wood wall panelling and ceiling that flows from the centre into the library. There are many different types of material used in the proj- ect, which was complex, but the final result is truly stunning." He goes on to mention that there is an acoustical barrier at the third floor to separate the tenant spaces, which required a lot of upfront co-ordination. The wood roof deck mentioned above, while aesthetically beautiful, also serves a larger purpose. "We were considering ways to achieve LEED Platinum [V4] and looked at the cost, schedule, and the embodied carbon of a reinforced concrete roof deck. It was much less for the wood structure and actually cost neutral, so it was easy for us to make the decision," says Versluis. For the systems, there was a lot of co-ordination with the base builder to procure the materials and ensure access into the building. "We also used the same mechanical and electrical contractor that the base builder was using, which helped align the sys- tems," says Aquino. The building has been fully wired to be completely isolated, so should there be a grid failure, a genera- tor can be dropped in that would allow the building to run both as a backup generator as well as co-gen. As per the Y's sustainability phi- losophy, every element of the build has been carefully considered, and as such contains everything from LED lighting, compressors that allow micro adjustments to heating and cooling, and equipment metering to monitor building usage. Ever forward-thinking, the podi- um's structure has capacity that allows for the future option of 7,000 square foot of additional community space or a living planted roof, promoting addi- tional environmental benefits. The YMCA at The David Braley Vaughan Centre, made possible in part by a $5-million donation from The David Braley Charitable Foundation, is now fully open and sets the bar for the area when it comes to bringing the community together. "It's exciting to be part of the infrastruc- ture while it's growing – helping shape the space and grow with the commu- nity," says Versluis, to which Aquino adds, "The magnitude of this project and being right in Vaughan where I grew up makes me very proud." A LOCATION 200 Apple Mill Road, Vaughan, Ontario OWNER /DEVELOPER YMCA of Greater Toronto INTERIOR ARCHITECT MJMA Architecture & Design ARCHITECT Diamond Schmitt (Design and Planning) CONTR ACTING MANAGER JR Certus Construction Co. Ltd. STRUCTUR AL CONSULTANT Blackwell Structural Engineers MECHANICAL /ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Smith and Andersen Consulting Engineers BUILDING CODE CONSULTANT LMDG Building Code Consultants BUILDING INSPECTION IRC Building Sciences Group TOTAL SIZE 77,000 square feet (YMCA) 110,000 square feet (Overall centre including COV & VPL) TOTAL COST 62.4 million

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