Award

AUGUST 2016 | 87 Great Plains Recreation Facility Great Plains Recreation Facility by PETER STENNING I t may be the smallest of four new recreation centres that The City of Calgary is developing in different under-serviced locations, but on several counts the Great Plains Recreation Facility is the most special. From an end-user's perspective, it is the only one of the four facilities (the others are Remington YMCA, Rocky Ridge and Seton) dedicated to ice sports, with two multi- purpose rinks contained in an 80,000-square-foot building. Also, rather than being situated in a residential neighbourhood, Great Plains is located in a light industrial area – which doubly inspired MJMA (MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects), the design lead of MTa+MJMA, to set a high standard of design quality for the facility, and the neighbourhood. Additionally, it is arguably the most visually striking of the four projects, with components that are unique to ice rink projects. "We left the design open to interpretation after having determined a list of functions in 2012 that the facility had to meet, and it was incredible what MJMA in a joint venture with Marshall Tittemore Architects (MTa) plus Graham Construction & Engineering and the trades came up with," says Marc Aquin, capital program lead, facility management, The City of Calgary, which also acted as project manager. Also benefitting the project was a unique relationship formed five years ago between MJMA and MTa for the specific purpose of producing innovative, award-winning recreation/sports facilities for Alberta communities. "The Great Plains Recreation Facility is the first built project in the province that realizes the intention of this architectural alliance," says MTa principal Tom Tittemore. On paper, the components of Great Plains are what one might expect from a new sports centre. Intended to bring together ice sport enthusiasts from across the city, the competitive tournament facility features two rinks for ice sports such as hockey, ringett and figure skating. It can accommodate up to 600 spectators through a combination of warm and cold-side seating; amenities include enhanced spectator seating for one of the rinks; large and small rooms for use as a fitness centre, studios, classrooms and meeting spaces; food services; and a pro shop. But the Calgary city council- approved Recreation Master Plan 2010-2020 contained provisions that would make the project special, such as an emphasis on spectator viewing that would allow for fans and athletes to share in the same experience on and off the ice. MTa, which provided client liaison, technical production support and construction compliance services for MTa+MJMA, viewed the 12-acre Great Plains site as "essentially a blank canvas that provides a significant design opportunity," according to MTa project architect Coben Christiansen. This view was echoed by Ted Watson, partner at MJMA, retained for their considerable experience in recreation centre design. "We believe that recreation centres are important civic buildings that strengthen communities, however they are often overlooked design-wise. The city shared this view, and even though the budget was limited relative to the other projects, we were determined to avoid a box- like look and feel of a typical rink." Watson goes on to explain that with typical rink design, the change rooms are located between the rinks. "This can make the lobby feel separate from the action and forces the social spaces to be isolated," he says. "Our approach consolidated a social core by relocating the change rooms to the periphery and making a golf tee-shaped space between the rinks providing for great viewing of both surfaces from the continuous warm-side and cold-side viewing spaces. This is the social heart of the project." The next design innovation was to incorporate skylights along the length of this spine, with glazing coming down to the side of the rinks (but not at the ends, which would have affected goalies' eyesight). "Indoor rinks can be pretty grim, lighting-wise," Watson explains. This inclusion literally transforms the project: the skylights, along with a vaulted ceiling for the spine, impart a stark, futuristic ambiance. Third, locating storage space, exercise rooms and a restaurant towards the front and back of the building within a dynamic hexagonal plan further broke up the layout of what would have otherwise been a box shape. "Plus, the design was carefully developed so that it could be mirrored when the time comes to expand the facility," says Christiansen. Landscape architect IBI/Landplan was tasked with not only integrating the surrounding land to deal with stormwater (the collection points became design features), but also creating berm walls that would subtly lead up to the facility and make it appear as if it's nestled in the ground. The landscaping also effectively screens the parking areas, which were consolidated into an efficient layout with logical expansion opportunities. A black base reveal combined with zinc cladding and upper portion white panels enhances Great Plains' unique visual appearance. Although value engineering was required to stay within budget (initial plans for a plaza gave way to a front canopy with the use of bright orange to define the space), some aspects of the project were relatively straightforward. "The mechanical systems were simple due to budget and therefore we encountered minimal problems apart from the usual challenges of obtaining ventilation certification," says Joe Pede, director, mechanical division, for SNC-Lavalin. Graham broke ground at the site in September of 2014, and of the building process Graham senior project manager Sean Bolter says, "One of the challenges was overcoming the constructability versus design with the many different angles and elevations of the building. But these were satisfying challenges in that this is one of the more appealing rink facilities I've ever seen." Although work crews (which numbered close to 100 at peak) faced an unusually rainy summer, this was compensated by a subsequent mild winter. "However, mild winters pose their own set of problems, such as water getting deeper into the ground and then freezing," Bolter notes. "Fortunately this didn't affect us, as our foundations were already in place." As of April of 2016, Great Plains was undergoing finishing touches for a summer opening, and MTa principal Tittemore says, "I'm very pleased and proud to see the germ of our architectural collaboration finally and fully realized in such a functional, striking new ice arena facility for The City of Calgary." A LOCATION 5749 76th Avenue SE, Calgary, Alberta OWNER/DEVELOPER/ PROJECT MANAGER The City of Calgary ARCHITECTS MTa+MJMA, Architects in Association Marshall Tittemore Architects (MTa) – (Prime Consultant) MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects (MJMA) – (Design Lead) GENERAL CONTRACTOR Graham Construction & Engineering STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. MECHANICAL CONSULTANT SNC-Lavalin ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT SMP Engineering CIVIL CONSULTANT Urban Systems LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT IBI/Landplan TOTAL SIZE 80,000 square feet TOTAL COST Undisclosed RENDERINGS COURTESY MARSHALL TITTEMORE ARCHITECTS & MACLENNAN JAUNKALNS MILLER ARCHITECTS 7:49 AM

• Cover