Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/255439
Petrospec Engineering – New Offices & Shop by Robin Brunet photos courtesy ABBArch Architecture inc. W hen Petrospec Engineering Ltd. president Gerr y Chalifoux decided to build a new headquarters in 2011, he knew the facility would give his staff of over 100 some much-needed breathing room. He also knew it would be designed to evoke a distinct architectural ambiance. What he didn't know was the effect the resulting headquarters, located in Sherwood Park, Alberta, would have on his employees. "The boost in morale has been noticeable ever since we moved in during October of 2013," he says. Petrospec, an oil field services and technology provider, had grown steadily since its inception in 1997 to the point where its staff were crammed into various buildings and trailers in and around Edmonton. "It was very inconvenient," says Chalifoux, "So when we secured 10.5 acres of new space in Sherwood Park, we were determined to build something that would accom- modate our future growth as well as amalgamate all of our operations." Chalifoux retained the services of J. Louis Baillargeon as design-proj- ect architect and as associate with Abbarch Architecture Inc.'s Edmon- ton office. Scott Builders Inc. was also retained early on, initially under a design-build format. But after a prelim- inary design for a three-storey facility was ratified, Chalifoux and Petrospec's CFO Kel Knutson decided to switch to a construction management format. "By using [this] format, the design and decision-making process throughout the project got dragged out to a degree," explains Hubert Buckle, general man- ager at Scott Builders Inc. Buckle says the basic concept and layout of the building, save for one major element, changed very little between the initial design stage and final execu- tion. "By having Louis take on a more traditional prime consultant and proj- ect management role, we were able to heighten the importance of architec- ture in the design process. The last thing we wanted was our headquarters to be merely functional," explains Chalifoux. The facility was developed with hori- zontal lines extending from the office portion to the 20,000-square-foot man- ufacturing and research and develop- ment shop, explains Baillargeon. "We chose a solid base of split face concrete block material of consistent height to unite the shop and offices visu- ally, and then we selected different pan- els in the same custom Roman bronze colour to subtly distinguish the two main programmatic elements: insu- lated metal panels by TDI for the shop and Thermal Systems' Alucobond pan- els for the offices, plus plenty of curtain wall glazing on the upper offices level and east entrance feature," he says. Baillargeon used every opportunity to bring natural light into the interior of the facility, which accounts not only for an inverted v-shaped chevron skylight roof feature but also four-foot sidelights in every office. "We also harvested day- light in the shop by lining the upper level perimeter with Kalwall skylight material," he says. "It's a stylistic echo of the way shops used to be designed historically, plus it saves on electricity consumption for lighting." Other architectural flourishes included a flaired feature staircase in the entrance area, Alucobond cladding extending into interior spaces, and most notably a 600-square-foot bistro for Petrospec staff. "Gerry was deter- mined to make the new headquarters as appealing as possible and for informal staff interaction," says Baillargeon. Site grading became an issue since the property was approximately eight feet higher than adjoining proper- ties on Portage Close. "The develop- ment team reasoned that there was still plenty of room to expand within a two-storey complex. As a safeguard, Baillargeon, with input from Jeff Rabinovitch at Read Jones Christof- fersen Consulting Engineers, designed the roof of the facility to be the floor of a future third level if required. Struc- tural columns were also outfitted with plates upon which third-level columns can be built. Both Chalifoux and Baillargeon describe the municipal permitting pro- cess as particularly time consuming, and the latter adds, "then we had to get additional agreements from Calgary- based pipeline companies because their pipelines crossed our property." Permitting and excavation weren't the only challenges. "The soil proved to be less suitable for a foundation than anticipated, so piles had to be driven deep into the ground – about 90 of them, 70 feet deep," says Buckle. More problems arose as the head- quarters took shape. "Edmonton had a particularly rainy summer in 2013; our site turned to mud and it got to the point where we couldn't move equip- ment," explains Clarence Robichaud, Scott supervisor. As construction wound down, Buckle and his crew took extra care installing up to five different exterior finishes, including the Alucobond and TDI panels. "The headquarters has many interesting touches, such as recycled crushed asphalt and concrete as a surface for the rear storage yard area, and an alternate steel fibre con- crete floor slab for the shop instead of traditional concrete rebar," adds Bail- largeon. Chalifoux is especially happy with the final result. "It's a unique head- quarters with just the right amount of elegance to make working in it very comfortable," he says. "It'll suit our needs for years to come." n Location 275 Portage Close, Sherwood Park, Alberta owner/DeveLoper Petrospec Engineering Ltd. architect Abbarch Architecture Inc. construction Manager Scott Builders Inc. structuraL consuLtant Read Jones Christoffersen Consulting Engineers MechanicaL consuLtant SCL Engineering Ltd. eLectricaL consuLtant TWS Engineering Ltd. LanDscape architect Design North Landscape Architecture Inc. civiL consuLtant Arrow Engineering Inc. coDe consuLtant Sereca Fire Consulting Ltd. totaL area 40,500 square feet totaL cost $15 million february 2014 /49 Petrospec engineering – New Offices & Shop p48-49Petrospec.indd 49 14-01-22 11:37 AM