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AUGUST 2016 | 77 Medicine Hat Family Leisure Centre Expansion PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY THE CITY OF MEDICINE HAT Medicine Hat Family Leisure Centre Expansion by ROBIN BRUNET O ne of the enviable problems for a public facility that enjoys iconic status is that when it comes time to expand, great care must be taken not to spoil its attractions. This was precisely the task facing the owners, architects and builders of the Family Leisure Centre in northwest Medicine Hat, Alberta – a building famous for its nautical architectural touches and a waterslide that resembles a lighthouse. Another dilemma facing the City of Medicine Hat was that with the facility regularly filled to capacity and in dire need of additional amenities, what would these amenities consist of? Only end users could answer that, so in 2013 the City and SAHURI + Partners Architecture Inc. (which had designed the original leisure centre in 1997) launched a series of meetings, which lasted six months. "We needed to determine their functional needs," explains Grant MacKay, the City's public works department project manager. He adds that a construction management delivery method involving Stuart Olson Construction Ltd. was also decided early on, to determine the cost of each element and adjust when necessary. SAHURI associate Lee Miller adds, "We must have developed two dozen concepts in total." Far from being overwhelmed by the process, MacKay says it was important to consider every suggestion: "And the consultation process extended into the fit-out stage of the project, to determine specific turf, wayfinding, even netting." Of an overall $37.4-million budget, $29.4 million was allotted for the construction of the 128,000-square- foot building expansion; the remainder went towards exterior upgrades and expansion, including a premier lighted synthetic turf sports field. An expansion of the Methanex Bowl kicked off the first phase of the project and was presided over by Colliers Project Leaders – this included the addition of an amenities building, a food services area and new bleachers. As for the $29.4-million expansion, it enhanced the Family Leisure Centre's status as a true community hub. The design accommodates a new field house with two multi-purpose indoor turf playing surfaces, a 200-metre indoor running track and gymnasium, expanded fitness and wellness areas, additional spectator seating for the existing multi-purpose swimming pool, and upgraded administration areas. Miller and his colleagues arranged these components in a logical fashion. "We created a central 'spine' along which the components were placed, and the spine would also facilitate future expansion," he says. An ambiance best described as "friendly-industrial" was achieved using massive swaths of colour to define different interior spaces; for the exterior, the metal cladding of the original building had to be replicated by a Quebec manufacturer "because the Alberta-based roller who supplied us in 2002 didn't have that particular colour in his catalogue anymore," says Miller. The expansion is mainly defined by a flat roof over the soccer pitches. "We wanted no columns or other structural elements that would prevent the pitch from being easily reconfigured by removing the soccer boards – hence the clearspan and flat roof," explains Miller. To minimize a big box effect, multiple elevations were created. Making the most of spaces on a comparatively limited budget was a key mandate. For example, the budget didn't extend to building a dedicated football change room, "so we designed overhead doors that divide portions of the multi-sport change rooms," says Miller. "During football season, these doors can be opened and the benches reconfigured to accommodate the much larges space required by that sport." Stuart Olson provided pre- construction services to meet budget and schedule requirements, and this led to a remarkably trouble-free build when the project broke ground in early 2014; this despite the challenge of connecting the new facility with the old. "When you cracked open a slab nobody was certain where the conduits were," says Miller. MacKay notes, "As construction managers, Stuart Olson was exemplary. At one point we were going to build an ice arena, but they determined that this would exceed our budget by $4 million – so we revisited our 2011 Recreation Master Plan, reprioritized needs with City Council, and built the gym instead. They also did a fabulous job sequencing the construction so that users in the original facility were minimally disturbed." Because the site contained no storm sewers and a substantial amount of rainwater would fall from the new roof, civil and landscape architects WSP/MMM Group Limited undertook extensive soil testing, reconfigured roof drains, and re-graded portions of the site so that water would travel to storm ponds and other areas. "We also enhanced the front entrance with buffers for snow drifts and planted prairie grasses, trees and other indigenous material," says senior landscape architect Ben Tymchyshyn. Revit software was used extensively by the entire consulting team, including the mechanical engineers of AME Group, to ensure that the massive systems required for the expansion operated with maximum efficiency. Similarly, The HIDI Group principal Cory Renwick with designer Frank Lamb used lighting software to develop lighting simulations to establish the desired ambiance for different spaces; utilizing the best lighting products and controls. "This saved a lot of money and headaches during construction," says the former. A decorative linear LED lighting design was employed for vertical recesses in the exterior facade of the facility, giving it a striking, stately appearance at night. "One unexpected development was midway through construction when we were given the additional task of designing cable systems for video television and signage," says Renwick. "However, we did so with no setbacks." Completed on time and on budget, the expanded Family Leisure Centre officially opened on June 25, and several days prior to that event MacKay remarked, "This was a lengthy project and budget issues were constant, but the outcome speaks for itself: we have a beautiful facility, with amenities that rival if not surpass any recreation centre in Alberta." A LOCATION 2000 Division Ave N, Medicine Hat, Alberta OWNER/DEVELOPER City of Medicine Hat PROJECT MANAGER Colliers Project Leaders ARCHITECT SAHURI + Partners Architecture Inc. CONSTRUCTION MANAGER Stuart Olson Construction Ltd. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Tomecek Roney Little & Associates Ltd. MECHANICAL CONSULTANT AME Group ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT The HIDI Group CIVIL/LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT WSP/MMM Group Limited TOTAL SIZE (EXPANSION) 128,000 square feet TOTAL COST $37.4 million 9:37 AM

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