Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/255439
1134 Burrard by Peter Caulfield photo: robert stefanowicz T he Kettle Society, a Vancouver not-for-profit organization that helps people with mental illness lead healthier lives, is building a 16-storey, cast-in-place concrete structure at 1134 Burrard Street in downtown Vancouver, B.C. When completed in the spring of 2014, the building will contain 13 storeys of residential units for Kettle Society members and two self-contained floors (the first two floors) for Family Services of Greater Vancouver's Directions Youth Services Centre. The centre provides support and guidance to Vancouver's homeless youth and youth-at-risk. 1134 Burrard will also have one floor for a library, television room, lounge, support services and meeting rooms. The project integrates form and function. "The design of projects in the non- profit, human support sector is determined to a great extent by the often distinct operational requirements of many organizations," said Sheila McLaughlin, senior development manager of Terra Housing Consultants. Terra works with non-profit organizations, such as The Kettle Society, to develop social-purpose real estate. Located across the street from St. Paul's Hospital, 1134 Burrard is a tall, slender building that fits easily into its dense, vertical surroundings. "It's a high- profile location," says Colin Shrubb, principal of dys architecture. "The project needed to be economical but it also had to be attractive." The exterior of 1134 Burrard will feature metal and masonry cladding and aluminum double-glazed windows, with curtain wall at grade using translucent coloured glass. The structure will be fully insulated on the outside. "The build- ing will incorporate two different programmatic requirements for two different groups," says Shrubb. "It will have two separate entrances on Burrard: one for the Directions Youth Services Centre and the other for The Kettle Society." The three non-residential floors of 1134 Burrard will be "durable" in their esthetic. "They will have polished concrete floors and columns, and exposed duct work, with a limited number of ceilings in common areas," explains Shrubb. 1134 Burrard is targeting LEED Gold certification. Energy-saving and sustain- ability features include heat recovery ventilation, enhanced building envelope, in- floor radiant heating, high-quality windows, no- or low-VOC paints, sealants and glues and linoleum floors, which do not contain any petroleum products. When completed 1134 Burrard will contain 141 studio apartments. Ten of those apartments are designated to youth between 15 and 18 years of age. The apart- ments all come with kitchens, fully-equipped bathrooms and a living/sleeping area. "The apartments will have an average area of 340 square feet," says Shrubb. "The units have been designed to be very efficient and able to stand up to hard use." Janet Smith, The Kettle Society's director of housing, says 1134 Burrard will have many special features. "There will be security cameras throughout the com- mon areas and a vestibule in the lobby to discourage certain kinds of visitors from disturbing our tenants," says Smith. In addition, she adds, the quality of the clean air will be exceptional. "Pests, cook- ing and other smells will be contained inside the individual apartments and will be prevented from going into the hallways or the other apartments." Clothing and other belongings will be put through a "bed bug sauna" in the building before they're allowed into the apartments. A gas boiler heats water and an electric fan spreads 60 degree Celsius heat for four to six hours, until any bed bugs dry out and fall off. Smith says The Kettle Society provides safe and secure housing to start the healing process of the trauma of living on the streets. "Our staff also provide life- skill training, rehab programming and community development," she says. "They connect tenants with primary care, food, education, training and work. And when any tenant is ready to live on their own, we help them with the transition into new housing." Calum Scott, director of youth services at Family Services of Greater Vancouver, says its new facility Directions Youth Centre at 1134 Burrard is going to make Directions "bigger and better" for serving its youth. "It's a much larger space [than its current facility at 900 Pacific Street] that has been purpose-built with our youth in mind," Scott says. "The centre will have dedicated spaces for the art program, our electronic arts media room and a classroom for our alternative education program." In addition, there will be two medical offices for street nurse practitioners and a doctor to provide medical care. "Directions will have a large kitchen that will enable us to create nutritious hot meals for our youth," Scott says. "They will also have access to storage lockers, laundry services and showers." Location 1134 Burrard Street, Vancouver, B.C. owner/DeveLoper The Kettle Friendship Society DeveLopment consuLtant Terra Housing Consultants Ltd. architect dys architecture GeneraL contractor VanMar Constructors Inc. structuraL/ BuiLDinG enveLope consuLtant Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. mechanicaL consuLtant The AME Consulting Group Ltd. eLectricaL consuLtant Acumen Engineering Ltd. LanDscape consuLtant Eckford Tyacke & Associates Landscape Architecture Inc. interior DesiGner Shrubb Design Partnership Inc. totaL area 103,995 square feet totaL cost $41.7 million (including cost of land) Shrubb Design Partnership selected the interior finishes, lighting and furniture. Diane Shrubb, principal of the firm, says she sought to provide comfort and safety, and a reprieve from living conditions on the streets in a non- institutional environment. "At the same time, the design had to be durable, easy to clean and resistant to bed bugs." To do that, Shrubb used polished concrete floors, stainless steel finishes and a palette of neutral colours. "The multi-coloured glass feature panels on the building facade will be repeated with accent colors in common area seat- ing and residential furniture," she says. Mike Denbok, project manager at VanMar Constructors Inc., the general contractor on the project, says the project's biggest challenge was the discovery of soil contamination on the site when excavation began. "[The soil contamination] meant we had to redesign the part of the building that's below grade and install provisions for a permanent groundwater treatment system," Denbok concludes. n february 2014 /55 1134 burrard p54-55_1134 Burrard.indd 55 14-01-22 11:08 AM