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Mission Community Health Centre by Robin Brunet he term "an architecture of wellness" has been used to describe a new $36-million LEED Gold-standard health complex near Mission General Hospital. It consists of a recently completed community health clinic and a soonto-be campus of care for seniors. The complex will feature 200 beds divided into eight residential "neighbourhoods" and stacked over three floors to provide a home-like environment. The clinic was built and is owned by VanMar Constructors to be leased back to the Fraser Health Authority. Fraser Health owns the campus of care, which is distinguished by the fact that the building is made almost entirely of wood. "Both facilities comprise a project that, despite its complexity, is being completed with remarkably few problems and no setbacks," says Shawn Vandergaag, VanMar project manager. "One reason for this is because we used the design-build delivery system, plus we made sure to secure a lot of good subtrades, which makes any job run smoothly." The design-build team includes Farrow Partnership Architects, which was selected due to its extensive experience in the seniors' health care T Mission Community Health Centre market. Farrow collaborated closely with VanMar and KMBR Architects Planners Inc. to create the first health care complex of its type in B.C. "Our team functioned exceptionally well, with KMBR initially selected as a local architect that could aid in design, construction drawings and layout," says Vandergaag. While Farrow's main focus was the 12,000-square-metre campus of care, KMBR exclusively designed the 2,600-square-metre health clinic. "The centre underwent several design revisions due to program changes, but the main challenge for us was accommodating four departments under one roof in a relatively small site area adjacent to the hospital," says Danielle Pepin, KMBR senior designer and technologist. The extensive use of wood in the campus of care coincided with the design-build team's inspiration to create a facility reminiscent of a traditional West Coast First Nation sun crest: a series of arms extending outward and radiating around a central sun figure. This translated into a building with six three-storey radiating arms organized around the central courtyard, plus a pair of two-storey, L-shaped wings that integrate with the existing hospital. The visual appearance of the clinic differs greatly from the campus of care. "We wanted to have a distinct identity from the hospital and residential care home," says Pepin. "While we saw the use of exposed wood structure and siding as entirely appropriate for the seniors care home, we used concrete slats, metal cladding and curtain wall glazing for a more commercial feel to our clinic." Aside from providing a striking visual appearance, the radiating residential wings of the campus of care provide increased views to the river valley and allow for more daylight to enter the bedrooms as the wings move farther apart at the outer edges. Photos: Derek Lepper The exterior central court is the heart of the facility, acting as a social and organizing device for the public spaces within each residential unit. Common spaces (dining, lounge, multipurpose/ activity areas and outdoor terraces) and clinical areas (care stations, staff rooms) are intentionally grouped together around this central court. In addition to a maximum amount of light entering the public spaces, this arrangement also renders the court "as a wayfinding device, ensuring residents can orient themselves to the light and the views," according to a statement released by Farrow. Staff spaces, including nursing stations and quiet rooms on all floors, 13-08-28 3:41 PM p66-69Mission.indd 67 13-09-13 4:04 PM

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