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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 4 | 53 Burnhamthorpe Community Centre Expansion P H OTO G R A P H Y BY S COT T N O R S E WO RT H Y/CO U RT E S Y C S & P A RC H I T EC T S BURNHAMTHORPE COMMUNITY CENTRE EXPANSION by ROBIN BRUNET T he renovation of the Burnhamthorpe Community Centre in Mississauga illustrates the challenge facing most commu- nity centres when the need comes to upgrade. On one hand, it would be simpler to build anew, but on the other, such facilities are usually well regarded by users, so some semblance of familiarity has to be retained. Preserving these components at Burnhamthorpe but adding new programs was what the City of Mississauga and CS&P Architects were faced with. "Many programs in the facility functioned just fine, including the arena, but the split-level build- ing had no street presence on a key corner; everyone was using a side door instead of the main entrance, and there was no connectivity," says Susan Lewin, principal at CS&P. In 2014, the City expressed its intent to invest in a renovation, and in 2017 the Community Service Department retained Monteith Brown Planning Consultants in association with Perkins & Will Architects to undertake an Indoor Facility Infrastructure Strategy, to inform capital investments required for Mississauga's sup- ply of indoor recreation facilities. Anna Cascioli, senior manager, capital design and construction, facili- ties and property management, for the City of Mississauga, says, "We identified three community cen- tres requiring renewal in the next 10 years in order to address the growing needs for aquatic programming in Mississauga and address the aging infrastructure." In 2019, The City retained CS&P architects to validate and inform the proposed expansion of Burnhamthorpe Community Centre in addition to two other community centre facilities. Burnhamthorpe, built in 1974, was identified as the first facility to undergo renovations. Arguably the most important aspect of CS&P's work was something that solved connectivity and helped join the old and new elements. "We designed a long spine running from the west parking lot to a new com- munity park to the east," says Saeed Sadeghi, senior associate at CS&P. Lewin adds, "This gave us two entrances, and in the middle of the spine we created a main lobby with access to all the new programs that also acted as a town square com- munity hub, a beautiful gathering space with clerestory windows." Essentially, the existing floor plan was south of the spine; the new components were to the north. Chief among these new elements was an aquatic centre and equipment- based fitness space. "The new indoor aquatic centre includes a 25-metre lane pool with therapeutic tank to enhance general aquatic programming and address the anticipated growth in the older adult population," Cascioli says. "By integrating a club-format, equipment-based fitness centre, this addition has created a strong des- tination for community users." CS&P helped ensure this space would be unique compared to other aquatic facilities. "As part of the City of Mississauga Recreation Department's program, we put in a climbing wall," Sadeghi says, and Lewin notes that, "We took advantage of the split-level nature of Burnhamthorpe to create an amphithe- atre looking onto the pool." A universal change room was designed with cub- bies for individual and family privacy. Working under a construction management delivery system, Percon Construction Inc. benefitted sub- stantially from the City closing Burnhamthorpe entirely. "Trying to construct this major addition while keeping the facility open would have been very challenging, specifically from a safety and operational per- spective," Cascioli explains. "Closing a facility is always difficult as it means redirecting users to other nearby community centres to access pro- gramming. Our recreation team was instrumental to find ways to minimize these inconveniences." A high-performance envelope con- sisting partly of metal siding with a 'V' profile plus extra insulation on the walls and roof were installed, as were solar panels on the fitness centre and pool roof. Contributing to the facility's sus- tainability was a heat recovery system that used waste heat from the ice rink refrigeration system to heat the pool. In January 2024, the multipur- pose rooms and gymnasium reopened along with the new fitness cen- tre, and the aquatic centre followed in February 2024. "The renova- tions took place during COVID, and Percon did an incredible job han- dling all the associated labour and supply challenges," says Cascioli. As for CS&P's contribution, Cascioli says, "From a site perspective, CS&P's placement of the addition seamlessly blends in with the neighbourhood fabric and creates a clear pedestrian connection to other City park ameni- ties. On the interior, the transparent design solution allows for a very clear and simple way to navigate the vari- ous program options offered at the community centre. This improves the user experience making it a popular destination for families and individu- als accessing our City programs." A LOCATION 1500 Gulledon Drive, Mississauga, Ontario OWNER /DEVELOPER City of Mississauga ARCHITECT CS&P Architects GENER AL CONTR ACTOR Percon Construction Inc. STRUCTUR AL CONSULTANT LEA Consulting Ltd. MECHANICAL CONSULTANT H.H. Angus & Associates Ltd. CIVIL CONSULTANT MTE AQUATICS CONSULTANT Aquatic Design & Engineering Services (a division of DEI Consulting Engineers) TOTAL SIZE 32,000 square feet TOTAL COST $40 million extremepartition.com Operable Walls | Security Grilles | Gym Curtains | Accordian Walls Bathroom Partitions | Wood Walls | Glass Walls | Roll up Shutters Proud to be part of the Burnhamthorpe Community Centre project! Extreme Partitions-Burnhamthorpe.indd 1 Extreme Partitions-Burnhamthorpe.indd 1 2024-07-31 9:56 AM 2024-07-31 9:56 AM December 2024 ANNUAL INDUSTRY FEATURE: Walls & Ceilings Book your ad space now:  |  Dan Chapman 604.473.0316

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