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OCTOBER 2016 | 83 St. Jerome's University Campus Renewal RENDERINGS COURTESY DIAMOND SCHMITT ARCHITECTS by DAY HELESIC St. Jerome's University Campus Renewal S t. Jerome's University in Waterloo, Ontario is ready to show off the results of its Campus Renewal 2015 Plan, the biggest capital project in the school's history. The $47-million expansion got underway in July 2014 with the development of a handsome new residence facility and a state-of-the- art academic centre, both designed to accommodate more faculty, staff and students, and re-envision the liberal arts university as a whole. What's more, the project embraced the cutting- edge Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) model that is anything but traditional. Instead of a transactional contract, all three parties (in this case Diamond Schmitt Architects, Graham Group Ltd. and St. Jerome's University) entered into an agreement to operate as a team. "The IPD model breaks the traditional boundaries between design disciplines and the trades, which allows the team to think holistically about the project rather than optimize its parts," says Samir Emdanat, the development's IPD manager. For Art Winslow of Graham Construction, the rationale for using this model was simple: "IPD gives more value to the client and eliminates much of the waste inherent in the traditional design and construction process," he says. But in order for it to really work, key players need to be involved from the beginning. "All team members are brought in at the design development stage and participate in creating the design together," he continues. "This allows the designers to develop the BIM model that reflects exactly how the buildings are to be built, while incorporating standard and repeatable elements." In other words, IPD buildings are designed to go up more efficiently. The campus upgrade was long overdue. St. Jerome's University hadn't made improvements to infrastructure since the school was established on the University of Waterloo campus in the 1960s. The overall project goal? To deliver an innovative, inviting and functional campus, thereby providing an exceptional experience for students, staff and faculty. To achieve that, however, more physical space was needed. "The expansion is a complete campus renewal of nearly 2.4 hectares of the school's infrastructure," says Darren Becks, VP of administration at the University. "It allowed us to turn the page to a new phase at St. Jerome's." The completed development has more than doubled the square footage of the campus. And though the highlights are many, for project architect David Dow, the academic building really stands out. "With its spacious atrium and dramatic suspended brick clad volume, the building creates a new gateway to the St. Jerome's campus," he says. The two-storey academic centre is largely transparent due to an expansive use of glass, which allows natural light to flood the space. Within the building are student study spaces and six flexible classrooms, including a room with raked seating for 300. The second building, a seven-storey, 360-bed concrete residence, features twin towers, the configuration of which creates two new courtyards: one with soft landscaping and one similar to an urban court with vehicle drop-off area. Each residence floor is made up of two "pods," each with 28 beds and one don room. On the ground floor are communal recreation areas such as a study, games and music rooms, and a pantry for food services programming. A gym, wellness centre and movie room round out the amenities. To complement the new buildings are reconfigured roads, 110 new parking stalls, covered walkways and strategic Ontario climate–appropriate landscaping. "The positioning of the new courtyard, the consideration of the micro-climate and limiting the impact of building shadows will help make it a comfortable space for people further into the fall, and earlier into the spring," says Mark Zuzinjak, the project's landscape architect. For the St. Jerome's development team, the IPD model has many benefits. Decision-making is collaborative, which results in design plans that are ultimately more reliable. That translates into fewer errors, delays, change orders and duplication of effort. The key, says Zuzinjak, is to embrace the process. "A successful IPD project is all about communication, about focusing on not only your own scope of work, but how that integrates with the other consultants and, most importantly, the needs of the client," he says. "No delivery method is perfect," admits Tim Jantzi the mechanical/ electrical consultant for the expansion, "but the more you can model the relationships as 'one company,' the more successful the delivery." Structural engineer Kumbo Mwanang'onze agrees: "If you put the effort in to understand the process, it's well worth it," he says. "And because the main stakeholders are financially 'in it' together, the project either succeeds or fails for all of us. It motivates the team." That's not to say the IPD model doesn't have its challenges. For Jantzi, one of St. Jerome's project's biggest hurdles became an area of strength. "The greatest challenge was creating a building information model using Autodesk Revit," he says. "But once it was finished, it eliminated or minimized redundant work, decisions and design." Mwanang'onze found that sticking to the budget was a complicated endeavor. "To achieve cost savings for the St. Jerome's project, we limited ceiling space and thereby reduced overall building height," he says. "This required intensive co-ordination between engineers, architects, mechanical designers and contractors. The team used 3D software to run clash detection; there was not an inch to spare by the end of the design process, and it worked out wonderfully on site." The entire IPD team enjoys knowing that they had a hand in creating a place for students to live and learn at St. Jerome's University. "The project has been an overwhelming success," says Becks. "We're going to open on time, not a penny over our targeted costs and we have realized over $2 million in value adds." Staff, faculty and students are looking forward to exploring the new buildings and outdoor spaces. "Seeing the buildings complete evokes great feelings of pride," concludes Becks. "We've accomplished an innovative and challenging IPD project, which has brought St. Jerome's University a level of attention, nationally and internationally, that a small affiliated institution would never have garnered. The campus renewal has allowed us to be recognized as an innovative post-secondary institution, a premiere destination for studying, working and learning." A LOCATION 290 Westmount Road North, Waterloo, Ontario OWNER/DEVELOPER St. Jerome's University ARCHITECT Diamond Schmitt Architects GENERAL CONTRACTOR Graham Group Ltd. INTEGRATED PROJECT DELIVERY MANAGER Ghafari Associates STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. MECHANICAL/ ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT MCW Consultants Ltd. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT GSP Group Inc. TOTAL SIZE 24,606 square feet (academic building) 107,456 square feet (residence building) TOTAL COST $47 million 4:20 PM 10:47 AM