Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/177297
– University of the Fraser Valley by Laurie Jones he Fraser Valley is one of the most rapidly growing areas of B.C., and its university has been developing and expanding along with it. What started out as Fraser Valley College in 1974 became a university-college in 1991, and received full university status in 2008. This year, the University of the Fraser Valley celebrated the opening of its latest building at the Canada Education Park in Chilliwack. Part new construction, part extreme renovation, the project showcases an innovative blend of existing and new facilities into one entity. "In 2006, 85 acres of a former military base in Chilliwack [B.C.] was purchased by Canada Lands," says Craig Toews, executive director of campus planning at UFV. "Our previous president, Skip Bassford, was presented with an opportunity to imagine a new campus when Canada Lands announced its vision to build a beautiful new residential community. At its heart would be the Canada Education Park. UFV became part of that and we are one of the largest land owners in the park." Phase One began with the renovation of a 2.5-acre military warehouse in Chilliwack into a trades and technology centre for courses like electrical, carpentry, welding and automotive. "That was quite a transformation, and was a consolidation of most of our trades programming from Abbotsford," says Toews. After Phase One was completed in 2007, a three-year process began to T 92/ create the next building on the new campus. "Our budget was falling short when we were looking at a military engineering building on site," says Toews. "We wondered how we could fit it into the vision of the new campus. As we wanted to make a cornerstone statement, we decided to take a look at the engineering building more closely and put all our efforts there. We tore down one wing of what was five disparate buildings, then in-filled approximately $20 million of new construction on the inside. This area eventually knitted all the other pieces together and created some beautiful atrium spaces with natural light." The B.C. provincial government's Wood First Act – which was established in 2009 and required that wood be considered the primary building material in all new publicly funded buildings, including schools – had to be considered. "We looked at a number of ways to introduce wood structures into the building, both from an overall building perspective and also from incorporating the different parts of the building together," says Darren Burns, principal architect with Stantec Architecture Ltd. "We ended up using a system of glulam beams and structure to create the connective space between the five primary academic zones. That allowed us to have the wood, natural light and an atrium to create that connection. It worked quite well to add the warmth and amount of daylighting to the interior that otherwise would not have been possible." The colour palette was chosen in varying degrees of greens, ambers and ochres that reflect the changing landscape of the environment surrounding the campus. "It is a beautiful valley setting along the Vedder River that features deciduous trees and mountainscape," says Burns. Another interesting component to the UFV Chilliwack Campus is the Aboriginal Access wing – a Stó:l? Nation long house-style gathering place that was created with assistance from the local aboriginal community and UFV staff. "We had a wonderful opening ceremony where they honoured the builders and the people who worked on the project," says Burns. "It is inside one of the existing buildings that is treated with wood around the interior in a contemporary way. It has a depressed floor with a tiered seating arrangement so the First Nations students and residents can do smudge ceremonies and other activities in their traditional gathering configuration." The room is designed for 200 people and soon after the campus opened, that number was tested. "We hosted a conference called Indigenizing the Academy in August of 2012," says Toews. "It was wonderful to have people from across Canada experiencing this space and dialoguing together about aboriginal issues." As part of meeting the LEED Gold requirements, the team wanted to install an open-loop geo-exchange system that would utilize water from the Vedder River aquifer. "This initially caused anxiety with the City engineers because the aquifer that we would be drawing from produces award-winning drinking water for the residents of Chilliwack," says Toews. "We had to drill down 200 feet, 100 feet below the drinking water aquifer. Now we are december 2012 Location 45790 Caen Avenue Chilliwack, B.C. Owner/Developer University of the Fraser Valley Project Manager MHPM Project Managers Inc. Architect Stantec Architecture Ltd. Construction Manager Stuart Olson Dominion Construction Limited Structural Consultant Stantec Consulting / Equilibrium Consulting Inc. Mechanical/Electrical/Civil/ Landscape Consultant Stantec Consulting Total Area 150,000 square feet Total Construction Cost $32 million Canada Education Park Towne Millwork sixth.indd 1 p92-93Canada Education.indd 92 photos: Ed White Photography Canada Education Park – Phase 2 tapping into water at a rate of over 300 gallons per minute. This geo-exchange system heats the building in the winter and cools it in the summer." The energy modelling at this point shows this building will operate at 60 per cent less cost in energy than the Chilliwack North campus, offering the university a significant saving in gas and electricity. "One of the biggest challenges, and at the same time the most rewarding part of the project, is that it is an extremely complex facility," says Kevin Bowser, project manager for Stuart Olson Dominion Construction Ltd. "We installed state-of-the-art mechanical and electrical systems, and spaces for a number of different faculties. With the project being a mixture of renovation, addition and new construction, the structural upgrades were quite complex as well. This was not easy, but on the flip side, it is wonderful to see it all come together." Bowser says the moment of greatest pride was seeing the facility in action at the beginning of May. "For someone like me who spent every day out on that job site for nearly two years, to see classes in full swing is very rewarding." Hilary Piets, assistant project manager with MHPM Project Managers Inc., agrees. "Hilary Cooper and I worked together to procure the campus furniture and equipment. It was really nice to see students using the products we chose, and to see people using the pockets of communal space to connect with fellow students." She says the outside amphitheatre is another opportunity for students to gather and watch concerts or lectures in a smaller setting. ■ 12-10-29 12:16 PM 11/16/12 3:51 PM