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OCTOBER 2015 | 91 HUB at King George Station – Phase A PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY PCI DEVELOPMENTS CORP. HUB at King George Station – Phase A by ROBIN BRUNET I t's no secret that Surrey City Centre has given B.C.'s second biggest city a fresh new downtown core plus a showcase for LEED accredited buildings that exemplify the best 21st century approach to commercial design. But even while under construc- tion earlier this year, the latest addi- tion to City Centre's skyline, HUB at King George Station from owners PCI Developments Corp., is a building that sent a clear message it would be an architectural standout. Jutting dramatically forward with an abrupt tilt to one side, the 10-sto- rey building and three-level parkade is somewhat reminiscent of a ship's prow. Augmented by a shard-like, crystalline front entrance, HUB is noteworthy in a downtown crowded with eye-popping design achievements. As the new headquarters for Coast Capital Savings Credit Union (and just steps away from City Centre's new city hall and library), HUB fulfills the credit union's promise to provide the antithe- sis of a traditional corporate head office. Instead, it gives employees a "cool place and space," with an interior open con- cept aimed at fostering collaborative work and innovation. P ushing t his concept f ur t her, architect s Musson Cat tell Mackey Partnership created space for a daycare, a rooftop lunchroom and deck, a fitness facility and a corporate university. Built to achieve LEED Gold designation, HUB also includes expanded bicycle storage and showers for commuters, as well as plug-in areas for electric cars. Other features include class A lobby finishes, nine foot ceiling heights, energy efficient tinted dual pane low-E windows operable with solar reflective roller shade window coverings, and HVAC designed to suit the open plan lay- out and provide maximum flexibility in accommodating future revisions. Musson Cattell also designed HUB with pedestrian priorities in mind. The facility is directly adjacent to the King George SkyTrain Station and includes an active pedestrian zone where transit pla- zas, a public plaza and the Coast Capital Community Plaza come together. The massive project is the first of four phases for PCI, with the Coast Capital headquarters consisting of 160,000 square feet of office augmented by 25,000 square feet of retail at ground level, every component tailored to enhance all aspects of Coast Capital's operations and numerous community initiatives. For Glotman Simpson Consulting Engineers, the exterior design created by Musson Cattell in collaboration with PCI Developments Corp. posed numer- ous unique challenges, not least of which was its tilting, sloping shape. "The signa- ture slope with the kick at the fifth level meant that every floor plate was offset from each other, and this obliged us to take a different approach in developing the structural columns," says principal Anthony El-Araj. "Specifically, we had to slope all of them, which put a horizontal load into the building." El-Araj goes on to note that usually in standard buildings you have a core sys- tem to support gravity loads and resist winds. "With HUB, the sloping columns created a lateral load, which put more load into the core and obliged us to beef up the core accordingly," he says. Another challenge was creating elevator shafts and stairwells in the offset structure. "The best solution was to locate them right in the middle of the structure," says El-Araj. As the mechanical and LEED consul- tant for HUB, Integral Group provided a tried and true HVAC system for the facil- ity. "We used a four-pipe fan coil hydronic system with branches on every level for chilled and hot water supply," says prin- cipal Jubin Jalili. "Heating energy was designed to tie in at a later date with Surrey's new District Energy System, and on the cooling side we installed Aermec heat pumps with air cool econo- mizers to maximize efficiency." A central heat recovery unit in HUB reduces energy consumption via a heat recovery element, and air volume is monitored with carbon dioxide sensors. "While we've used these types of sys- tems in a wide variety of projects, includ- ing Telus Gardens, it was hardly a 'cut and paste' job at HUB," says Jalili. "For one thing, the building has an extremely low f loor-to-f loor height, about six inches shorter than any other building in Metro Vancouver; the compact ceiling space saved considerable construction costs, but it required enormous planning to fit in everything properly." Ledcor Construction Limited broke ground on the project in July of 2013, and El-Araj marvels at how the company sys- tematically overcame some special con- struction hurdles. "The formwork alone was remarkable," he says. "In a typical project you use the same forms from floor to floor, but this couldn't be done here, and at one point Ledcor had shoring going up the full height of the building." The complex geometry made the installation of glazing a logistics chal- lenge, and due to HUB's slope, embeds in the slab were required to support the glass. "The complex geometry of the structure also meant that special atten- tion was given on how the glazing would interact," says El-Araj. "We're all proud of the outcome and the processes that led to its completion. PCI was extremely helpful and accommodating, and we were a good team that kept one goal in mind: quality." In a statement, from its VP of con- struction, PCI says that "Phase A fin- ished ahead of schedule, and this is due not only to Ledcor's expertise but our philosophy of involving everyone from the CEO to subtrade workers. The result is a building that is an instant icon, and as we move ahead with the early design of Phase B, we look forward to more design achievements." A LOCATION 9900 King George Boulevard, Surrey, B.C. OWNER/DEVELOPER PCI Developments Corp. ASSET MANAGER Triovest Realty Advisors Inc. ARCHITECT Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership GENERAL CONTRACTOR Ledcor Construction Limited STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Glotman Simpson Consulting Engineers MECHANICAL/LEED CONSULTANT Integral Group ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Nemetz (S/A) & Associates Ltd. LANDSCAPE CONSULTANT van der Zalm & Associates Inc. TOTAL SIZE Office/retail: 200,000 square feet Parking on three levels: 230,000 square feet TOTAL COST Undisclosed

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