Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/177297
bob matheson photography BC Cancer Agency Centre for the North by Jessica Kirby he BC Cancer Centre for the North settles into its community with a natural and fulfilling tribute to its patients and the cultural and economic history of the region. Constructed with a focus on creating a supportive, healing environment where family connections are key, the Centre for the North meets BC Cancer Agency's treatment objectives while setting the bar on designing for efficiency and appropriateness in rural communities. The Prince George facility serves the northern two-thirds of B.C. and provides a hub for the region's smaller service clinics. Part of the project involved outfitting regional clinics with telecommunication links to the Centre for the North's network to help patients conquer mobility and distance barriers. Hal Collier, chief project officer for BC Cancer Agency, says the facility's primary objective beyond physical treatment was creating a welcoming, friendly ambiance that essentially "helps patients feel better." The Centre's design had to address the northern population and their particular social and cultural needs, he says. "A big, fancy institutional building with people in white coats doesn't come across as friendly ambiance. It was important to create something First Nations and people living in rural communities would find welcoming and culturally significant." The project was a design-build-operate P3 involving Plenary Group, Johnson Controls and PCL Westcoast Constructors. Plenary and Johnson Controls will operate the building for upwards of 30 years. Alan Linsley, vice-president of Plenary Group says the exterior's light, streamlined design was ideal for realizing BCCA's vision and connecting the Centre for the North with the adjacent University Hospital of Northern BC. The team integrated the hospital's metal facade with the new building using locally sourced horizontal cedar cladding. Wood is also used extensively throughout the building's interior. "One of the objectives was to fit it in with the architecture and design of the existing hospital," says Linsley. "Just as we were about to sign on the dotted line, the Wood First Act was introduced. The existing hospital is clad in metal panel, so we made some lastminute changes to acknowledge the Act and the significance of wood in the Prince George area." The building is separated by usage – all treatment takes place on the first floor, and administration, spiritual care, and psycho-social services including counselling and support, are located on the second floor. The project had no major challenges, says Collier, although BCCA did have initial concerns about whether enough natural light would reach the centre of the building. "But even before T BC Cancer Agency Centre for the North p62-63 BCcancer.indd 63 we reached financial close the design team was already working on modifying the design to create a light well into the heart of the building," he says. "By the time we achieved the close, they'd already come up with a scheme to fix it." A central two-storey circulation atrium provides a light, airy and uplifting experience from the time visitors enter the building, says Bill Locking, senior partner with CEI Architecture. It was designed as a tree-like structure that connects the interior with nature and mirrors a similar feature in the adjacent hospital. Its deliberate architectural style serves two purposes – linking the buildings visually and announcing the Centre's unique identity with a functionally separate entrance. It also provides wayfinding on the main floor and a link to the hospital. "The atrium and secondLocation 1215 Lethbridge Street Prince George, B.C. Owner/Developer BC Cancer Agency Project Manager Plenary Group Prince George Architect CEI Architecture Planning Interiors Design-Build Contractor PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. Structural Consultant Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. Mechanical/Electrical Consultant MMM Group LEED/COMMISSIONING CONSULTANT Applied Green Consulting Ltd. GEOTECHNICAL CONSULTANT GeoNorth Engineering Ltd. Landscape Architect Jay Lazzarin Landscape Architect Total area 54,300 square feet Total construction budget $46 million floor balconies provide a visual link between your location and your destination," says Locking. "Large windows provide natural light and structural elements from the exterior are brought into the main atrium and extend through the building." PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. managed the design development and all stages of the building's construction. The building's structure is typical of a health-care facility – concrete foundation and lower level columns, and structural steel on the upper level. FSC-certified Douglas fir glulam beams and columns support the roof and atrium. Concrete work in specialized treatment areas or 'vaults' designed to hold linear accelerators – machines used in radiation treatment – was more challenging than the average job. To house the radiation levels safely, the walls in the two vaults ranged between six and 15 feet thick. "Then there's the roof slab, which was five feet thick," says Chris Rasmussen, project manager for PCL . "And there's a primary beam path with an additional six feet for a total 11 feet of concrete." PCL constructed similar rooms at Abbotsford Hospital using a continuous pour, which avoids construction joints through which radiation can escape. "We wanted to use the same plan in Prince George, but found out the supplier could only supply 30 cubic feet of concrete per hour," he says. "That would have meant a 30-hour pour." Instead, the builders broke the task into three separate 12-hour pours, and worked with structural engineers and a physicist to sawtooth the walls, providing jogs in the concrete that diffuse the radiation. The phased project required skillful planning on PCL's part since the Centre for the North was constructed on the adjacent hospital's parking surface. A new three-and-a-half-storey parking structure provides 302 stalls, which had to be constructed before the team could break ground on the Centre. "It was clear that parking was a challenge for the hospital," says Rasmussen. "We created temporary parking close to the site while we constructed the cast-in-place concrete parkade structure. Then, because of where the parking was located, we provided an underground link from the lower level parking to the existing hospital. This was a secure, warm, dry, good solution and one that the hospital really liked." The landscape design was created with deliberate attention to patient needs – ample protection from sun, wind and rain with space for groups and areas of solitude were the key ingredients of a beautiful space that offers year-round appeal and is relatively low-maintenance. Landscape architect Jay Lazzarin says his design included strategically placed deciduous trees and overhead trellises for shade and to create semi-private spaces sheltered from wind. On the south side of the property, he created a therapeutic garden – a highlight of the project. "It is designed as a retreat environment that addresses patient vulnerabilities and sensitivities, and those with limited physical strength," he says. The garden's layout was planned in consultation with First Nations representatives, and as a result includes an abundance of traditional healing plants, indigenous to the region. Another highlight, says Lazzarin, is the garden's smudging pavilion. "This is of high spiritual value to spiritual healing," he says. "Hopefully we've created a retreat where people are both protected from the elements and provided spiritual healing through traditional ceremonies." The building features a roof garden on the second floor with separate spaces for staff and patients to enjoy the outdoors. The staff portion is connected to employees' indoor space, and after the first two years, will function without an active irrigation system. The project, which was completed two months ahead of schedule and about a million dollars under budget, was recently awarded the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnership's Gold Award for Infrastructure, and the VCRA Awards of Excellence Silver Award for Contracts over $40 million. It opened for care in the fall. ■ december 2012 /63 11/16/12 3:34 PM