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august 2015 | 73 steinbach Credit union – Branch and Corporate Head Offi ce renderings courtesy steinBach credit union Steinbach Credit Union – Branch and Corporate Head Offi ce by Jerry eBerts S teinbach Credit Union's CEO, Glenn Friesen, is proud of the organization he works for. During his 17 years with the co-operative financial institution he has witnessed tremendous growth. Today, Steinbach Credit Union (SCU) is Manitoba's largest credit union. Understandably, the company quickly outgrew its 36,000-square-foot branch resulting in head office staff working out of seven smaller satellite offices around Steinbach. However, with the construc- tion of the brand new, six-storey branch and corporate head office, SCU is able to bring its 265-strong staff together again under one roof. "The project really began in 2008, but we ran into a few glitches and had to stop," says Friesen. "We then focused on our new branch in Winnipeg. At the time, Steinbach's city plans didn't mesh with ours, but 22 months ago, we were able to begin construction. Some of the city's requirements changed and every- thing worked out well." Ray Wan of Ray mond SC Wan Architects led the team. His involve- ment began four years ago when plans to amalgamate all the Steinbach-based operations into one space were again brought forward. "Four different firms submitted for proposal," says Wan. "The scope of the project was a bit up and down, but we decided we needed an expandable growth building with a lot of support functions." While eschewing LEED itself, the goal was to make SCU's new head office as green as possible. "It is an intelligent building," says Wan. "It's a Power Smart, highly energy-efficient building based on LEED, but because of time we started a little behind schedule and so we didn't end up going for that certification." Chris Ott, mechanical engineer and partner with SMS Engineering Ltd., agrees: "The building has some neat features, including being geothermally heated and cooled. There are heat pumps throughout the building, some supplemental, and we achieved 87 per cent efficiency with the air exchange system, which uses waste heat from the exhaust fans. If it's cold outside, we can use waste heat to get the inside much warmer. That's a great savings in cost and energy." Taking into account the consider- ably chilly and precipitous weather that blankets the province for so much of the year, the environmental management of the building was a huge part of the team's planning. "The curtain wall management is very energy-efficient," adds Wan. "The windows are all triple-glazed, which is critical, and we absolutely considered the orientation of the building to gain the maximum amount of daylight from the Location 305 Main Street, Steinbach, Manitoba owner/DeveLoper Steinbach Credit Union architect Raymond SC Wan Architect GeneraL contractor Penn-Co Construction structuraL consuLtant Crosier Kilgour & Partners Ltd. MechanicaL/eLectricaL consuLtant SMS Engineering Ltd. LanDscape architect McGowan Russell Group totaL area 95,000 square feet totaL construction cost $36 million

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