Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/175815
Elevation Place by Stacey Carefoot urrounded by mountains and only minutes from the east entrance to Banff National Park, the town of Canmore offers residents endless outdoor recreation opportunities. Complementing the town's mountain lifestyle is the new 77,000-square-foot Elevation Place that will house a host of community amenities including an aquatic centre, climbing centre and numerous multipurpose areas. Elevation Place's exterior features multiple roof elevations and slopes. Large sections of curtain wall provide a way for the Canmore mountain vistas to be appreciated by those inside the building during the day and offer a glimpse of the activities inside to residents and visitors strolling by in the evening. Other envelope materials include stone, masonry veneer, composite panels, metal cladding, glulam and rundle stone. The stunning design recently garnered the design team at Gibbs Gage Architects the Stephen Barr Award of Excellence for Recreation Facility Design. Sparked by the need to replace aging infrastructure, Elevation Place strikes a ine balance between Canmore's cautious growth and uncompromised sustainability. "The Town of Canmore requires a LEED Silver accreditation on its projects and this building is no exception," says Lorrie O'Brien, Canmore's general manager of municipal services. In addition to the required LEED components, Elevation Place will see initiatives such as the pool backwash water being used to lush toilets, and urinals and solar power being used to heat the water. The site itself will have the ability to recharge the groundwater by use of landscaping islands. The strategic placement of landscaping throughout the exterior of the building and the parking area will signi icantly reduce the arti icial heat island often created by structures of this magnitude. The landscape design features native plant species that will require minimal or no watering. Xeriscaping components throughout the exterior will also RENDERINGS COURTESY GIBBS GAGE ARCHITECTS S Elevation Place p.88-89Elevation Place.indd 89 include large boulders and rock paths. Minimal amounts of asphalt and non-porous paving surround Elevation Place, de-emphasizing vehicle access while strongly promoting environmentally responsible modes of transportation. "The orientation of the building provides a major opportunity to capitalize on passive heating and minimize the need for energized lighting," says O'Brien. "The site is linked on all sides to local and regional trail systems promoting active lifestyles and reducing vehicle usage." The building's con iguration will make use of a natural 'chimney effect' to passively vent the building's excess heat and minimize the amount of forced-air heating. The roof structure is composed almost entirely of timber. "Timber is a material that stores more carbon that is created to manufacture making it arguably the most sustainable building material," says Reid Costley, building disciplines manager at ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd. formerly known as Cascade Engineering Group. Other LEED initiatives in the building's structure include lyash as a supplementary cementing material and the use of numerous other products with recycled content. The timber theme is carried through into the building's interior with the installation of numerous glulam beams. "The beams above the pool are very large," says Costley. "These are the largest beams ever produced by Structurlam, a 60-year-old glulam manufacturing company." These impressive beams span 30 metres, are 2.6 metres tall and weigh in at nearly 30,000 pounds each. "The passage of mechanical ducts through the large beams over the pool is unique," says Reid Costley. "In this instance, structural and mechanical elements cooperate for the ef icient use of available space." "From a construction standpoint, the beams required extremely stringent construction tolerance of anchor bolts that were cast in concrete prior to the arrival the beams," says Graham Construction and Engineering operations manager Joe McCormac. McCormac adds that securing the right to utilize the CP Rail right of way was a signi icant challenge and took months to accomplish. Any municipal project of this magnitude does not come to fruition without its own set of construction and design challenges. "During the design phase, the team faced a variety of challenges that ranged from accommodating the various stakeholder groups, cost and budgeting, site location and of course schedule," says O'Brien. "The team made many dif icult decisions to ensure that neither the design nor the operations would be compromised." The amenities inside Elevation Place include an aquatic centre with an eightlane, 25-metre pool; a zero-beach leisure pool; a lazy river; large and small waterslides; steam room; hot tub and shower facilities. An 11,500-squarefoot library will feature a technology area, a children's story area and plenty of space for the town's literary collection. One of the main attractions will be the 7,000-square-foot climbing area. Climbers can trek as high as 45 feet up to enjoy views of the Three Sister's mountains on the outside and community space on the inside. "This will be the highest indoor wall in the Bow Valley," says O'Brien of the $600,000feature. "It has been designed to attract climbers of all abilities from all over the world." The site also includes a 1,000-squarefoot gallery area, a 2,000-square-foot itness area, four multi-purpose rooms, a community atrium with performance stage, a ireplace and exterior deck. Spectators can view the aquatic and climbing area from the second- loor multipurpose space. According to O'Brien, the de ining architecture of Elevation Place is a landmark meant to create a long-term legacy with leading-edge environmental thinking. "Elevation Place is inclusive," she says. "It's for everyone, it's a place to celebrate well-being, and above all it's a place to have fun." ■ LOCATION 700 Railway Avenue Canmore, Alberta OWNER/DEVELOPER Town of Canmore ARCHITECT Gibbs Gage Architects GENERAL CONTRACTOR Graham Construction and Engineering STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd. (formerly Cascade Engineering Group) MECHANICAL CONSULTANT SNC Lavalin/Wiebe Forest Engineering ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Stebnicki & Partners LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Carson McCulloch Associates Ltd. TOTAL AREA 77,000 square feet TOTAL CONSTRUCTION COST $39 million OCTOBER 2012 /89 9/11/12 12:17 PM