Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/255439
Prince George RCMP Municipal Detachment by Jerry Eberts renderings courtesy city of Prince george A brand-new RCMP municipal detachment building means the City of Prince George now has a facility that any officer would be proud to call HQ. The state-of-the-art complex is beautiful, functional and, not surpris- ingly, very green. Greg Anderson, manager of civic facilities for the City of Prince George, says the building will be a fine addition to the downtown core. Connected to the city's own district energy system, the design of the double structure is rife with references to the special geographic location of Prince George at the confluence of the Fraser and Nechako rivers."The building itself was started in 2011, beginning with demolishing the old property," says Anderson. He adds that the new facility is two buildings. Essentially, the front build- ing is two storeys and includes a public lobby, restricted access office areas, meeting rooms, laboratory space, stor- age areas and a vehicle maintenance area. Behind is a single-storey building housing 20 cells. "There are 17 regular cells, double-bunked," says Anderson. While the project aimed for LEED Silver, Anderson says it could very well gain Gold status. "This is the city's first LEED building," says Anderson. "It is connected to the district energy system, which uses biofuel from local sources. There is a solar wall on the south side that preheats intake air. There are domestic hot water solar panels and the main air handler uses a heat wheel, which preheats incoming air with waste heat. The building has a solid envelope and energy-saving glass. We have natu- ral ventilation using solar towers on the roof. The building is cooled in warmer weather with ground water through a well at the west end of the building." Project architect was Peter Bull, director responsible for the Edmonton architectural practice at IBI Group. "We came up with several images to stitch the whole design together," says Bull. "The two aspects we knew would be important included the use of wood throughout – lumber being key to Prince George – and that this building would be on the edge of the revitalization of the downtown area." Bull adds that the team needed to create a single point of entry for security considerations. "The whole front end of the building is based on the concept of a forest meadow, with huge boulders and upright columns – the latter reminis- cent of the line of trees at a forest clear- ing's edge. And it has a practical side, of course, preventing any vehicle from approaching too close to the lobby." Peter Semchuk from IBI Group was project manager and architect. Semchuk says reaching the city's target of LEED Silver was fairly easy, but "obviously we'd like to achieve Gold. It's a very col- laborative process, the implementation of building standards. We all aim for best practices. The general contractor, Maple Reinders, is quite qualified in this area. They created the documentation for LEED certification." Maple Reinders Inc. was general con- tractor for this project. Jessica Kelly was project manager, handling the day-to- day aspects of this complex job. Maple Reinders' operations manager Phil Long says the construction process had its "ups and downs, as all projects will," referring to unsuitable ground that needed replacement material. "The project was complicated, with a lot of details. But it was also very inter- esting," says Long. "We always have to think along the lines of constructabil- ity. We're responsible for putting the building together based on specs. We took the lead, but the architect stayed involved throughout. The quality of the product is the result of the quality of the team." Mark Anderson, partner with Vancouver's Bush, Bohlman & Partners, was structural consultant. He says the fact it was a curved building meant there were some issues around fram- ing the structure. "There is a mixed use of materials, including concrete for the main building and floors, a steel lower roof with wood where it is exposed, and Glulam in the atrium and entrance. We used ceiling tiles in lower areas," says Anderson. Stantec Consulting Ltd. was tagged for both mechanical and electrical, with Kevin Anthony as the mechanical engineer. "The building is linked to the district heating system and cooling is handled half by a geothermal system and half by an air-cooled chiller," says Anthony. "The plumbing uses low-flow fixtures and the building also captures rainwater for flushing." Stephen Lai was electrical engineer for the project, in charge of power sys- tems and lighting. "The power system was very important," says Lai. "There had to be uninterrupted power, so there are emergency generators that can give continuous service. It is designed for a post-disaster situation, to keep the building functioning during an emergency." IBI Group's Corry Bent was the interior designer and says the design concept was based on the locale, using regional materials and iconic local imagery – including ice jams which have been so dramatic in this city closely tied to its rivers. "The detachment is manned by civilians, so it was important to think of safety," says Bent. "We used pieces of glass to create an open look in the front area, with recycled glass coun- tertops that look like ice. We used stone tiles that are almost like cobblestones – that is not a surface that invites loiter- ing. It's quite unusual. "In some small open spaces, we used crazy carpets that are far from bland. We also used a DNA design for the forensic labs in sophisticated neutral colours. Overall, it is inexpen- sive but interesting – and [features] environmentally sound products, too." Landscape consultant for the proj- ect was Luc Deniger of IBI Group. "It's a downtown location and an imposing mass," he says. "We had to make the transition from the massive building to the street level. On the north side, we placed a garden that is more jagged – reminiscent of ice floes. The south gar- den is more curvy and organic. We tried to be not just horizontal, but vertical, like ice jams on the river. We also used glass blocks with lights shining through them to symbolize the colours of ice. But it also serves as a safety barrier." n Location 455 Victoria Street, Prince George, B.C. owner/deveLoper City of Prince George architect/interior design/ Landscape consuLtant IBI Group generaL contractor Maple Reinders Inc. structuraL consuLtant Bush, Bohlman & Partners MechanicaL/eLectricaL consuLtant Stantec Consulting Ltd. totaL area 5,825 square metres totaL construction cost $22.7 million february 2014 /75 Prince George rCMP Municipal Detachment p74-75Prince George.indd 75 14-01-22 12:54 PM