Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/493534
A PR IL 2015 | 61 Active Living Centre – University of Manitoba LOCATION 430 University Crescent, Winnipeg, Manitoba OWNER/DEVELOPER University of Manitoba ARCHITECT Cibinel Architects Ltd. ASSOCIATE ARCHITECT Batteriid Architects Ltd. GENERAL CONTRACTOR PCL Constructors Canada Ltd. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Crosier Kilgour & Partners Ltd. MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Epp Siepman Engineering Inc. ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT MCW/AGE Consulting Professional Engineers TOTAL AREA 100,000 square feet TOTAL COST $43.5 million Active Living Centre – University of Manitoba by LAURIE JONES W hen the doors officially opened in February for the Active Living Cent re at t he Universit y of Manitoba, students, faculty and resi- dents in the community of Winnipeg were anxious to try out the new facili- ties. With state-of-the-art equipment and floor-to-ceiling glass walls on three sides, this four-storey building is a wel- come addition to the campus. "When the project began in August 2009, we teamed up with Batteriid Architects from Iceland to work jointly on the design until the construction began in 2012," says George Cibinel, prin- cipal at Cibinel Architects Ltd. "The man- date was to create a centre that would promote recreation as a healthy lifestyle and we wanted to create a place where students would stay after discovering it. One way to achieve that included a café and lounge area off the main entrance that opens onto the sidewalk in good weather, with lots of tables to create an indoor/outdoor seating option. The whole complex will be very appealing." Cibinel says with its glass walls the entire building is visible, including all of the exercise stations. "The running track on the fourth level looks like it is floating. Because the Centre is well lit it is going to be a landmark, especially in the winter when the grounds are dark first thing in the morning and early evening." He adds that for the last 40 years, the university's workout rooms and run- ning track were in an area affectionately called the Gritty Grotto, the basement of the adjacent Frank Kennedy Centre. "The new facilities are night and day from before. When people enter and start to flow through the building they can see, hear and experience all of the exercising going on around them. It's a fairly dramatic visual and the focal point is a 35-foot climbing wall that starts on the third floor and rises past the run- ning track towards a skylight area. The climbing wall can be seen from the entrance, so it dominates the space." Bat teriid Architect s Ltd., 2013 winner of the prestigious European Mies van der Rohe award for architec- ture, worked extensively with Cibinel Architects in the early stages of the facility's design. "We were fortunate to meet the team from Cibinel through a connection with the Ambassador to Iceland who was stationed in Canada," says Sigurdur Einarsson, architect at Batteriid. "After we signed on for the Active Living Centre project, we began working in BIM and the plans went from there. It was a win-win situation com- bining our knowledge bases, and with a few trips to Canada, and many discus- sions over the phone and Skype, the col- laborative design was created." The Centre includes several workout areas complete with 160 pieces of cardio equipment, 64 pieces of resistance equip- ment, 49 pieces of strength equipment, and over 1,000 pieces of free weights and accessories. "The top two levels of the facility will be the most prominent," says Simon Wang, facilities manager and member of the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management. "Level 300, a general fitness group workout area, has our cardio, resistance and strength equipment and level 400 is the 200- metre running track." On the second floor there are three multi-purpose studios, a wing with administrative offices and a 10,000 square-foot space that will become the applied research centre for the Faculty. PHOTOGRAPHY IAN MCCAUSLAND/ COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA