Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/734400
OCTOBER 2016 | 81 Charles Chang Innovation Centre PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG EHLERS/COURTESY SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Charles Chang Innovation Centre by PETER CAULFIELD S ituated at the point where Vancouver's downtown core, central business district and Gastown neighbourhood all meet, the Charles Chang Innovation Centre held its official opening on September 27, 2016. Simon Fraser University's (SFU) new innovation centre and residence is a six-storey structure designed by Raymond Letkeman Architects Inc. as a four-storey wood frame structure over a two-storey concrete base. The building contains a coffee shop on the ground floor, an innovation centre on the second floor, and 52 residential apartments on the top four floors. SFU says the centre will be a unique living and learning community for graduate students in the heart of downtown Vancouver. The building's design is unique in Vancouver and very appropriate for the location, says architect Ray Letkeman. "Before I started, I analyzed the proportions of the historic buildings in the neighborhood," he says. "The centre needed to fit in with its neighbours and not overpower Victory Square across the street." Letkeman adds that the centre has a tripartite concept, like most of the buildings in the area built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. "Like the older buildings, the new centre has a base, a mid-building and a cornice top," he says. "We based its design on the same principles, but interpreted the detailing in a contemporary way." The centre's first two floors are fully glazed, which makes them transparent to the street and showcases the cafe and the second floor innovation space. The four floors above are more solid, with brownish- red brick and vertical windows. Above them is the building's cornice. The centre's design called for maintaining the existing heritage streetscape on Hamilton Street, says Michael Patterson, principal of P+A Landscape Architecture. "We needed to retain the existing granite curb and make sure the new sidewalk is integrated with it and the granite cobblestones on Hamilton," says Patterson. P+A also added trees on the front and east sides of the building, and upgraded the pedestrian crossing between the centre and the old Pappas Furs building. The project was designed and developed by a joint venture between MGC Projects, Chesterman Properties and VanMar Constructors Inc., with MGC acting as project manager. MGC principal Matthew Carter says co-operation was key to completing the project within a tight time window. "Because we needed to finish the building by May of this year, we needed to work collaboratively with the City of Vancouver to get it through the permitting process," says Carter. And because the project is located in the very expensive central Vancouver, the project needed to start generating cash flow quickly. "Project affordability was important," Carter says. "We had to stay focused on the financial feasibility of building a student rental project downtown." Willie Perez, a partner in MCW Consultants Ltd., which acted as the mechanical consultant on the project, also cited the tight building schedule. "The tenant was still working on the design while the base building was being constructed," explains Perez. Bogdanov Pao Associates Ltd. (BPA) of Vancouver acted as structural engineers of record for the base building. "We also did the structural engineering for the engineered demolition plans of the old bank building," says Paul Tomei, VP at BPA. "Actually, because of the way in which it was conducted, it is more correct to call it deconstruction rather than demolition." In addition to being the general contractor of the construction project, VanMar oversaw the demolition of the original building. "Everything went very smoothly, except the demolition took longer than expected," says project manager Shawn Vandergaag. "There was a lot of rebar in the bank. It was built like Fort Knox." Kirk Hill, assistant dean of external relations in the Beedie School of Business, says the new building will house two programs. RADIUS (RADIcal Ideas, Useful to Society) is a social innovation lab and venture incubator. Touted as a place for radical doers, RADIUS develops emerging leaders and solutions through several integrated program streams. In addition, the Graduate Certificate in Science & Technology Commercialization program is for B.C. university graduate students in science, engineering, health and environmental sciences who are interested in applied research and new product design and development. The residence section has 36 bachelor apartments, eight two- bedroom apartments and eight two- bedroom and study apartments. All the furnished apartments are equipped with washrooms, kitchens and a storage room and shared laundry facilities. They also include high-speed Internet, utilities and basic cable. Interior designer Laura Vroom, of Laura Vroom Design Corp. in Vancouver, says the interior layouts have been designed for efficiency and to ensure each suite has access to as much natural light as possible. "We tried to make use of every corner in the suites," says Vroom. "We have furnished the units with durable, yet modern, furniture that is the right scale for the space." Although the units are micro-size, Vroom says she incorporated features that enhance the livability of the units. "For example, many of the sofas have built-in laptop tables on the sofa-side arms," she says. "In addition, there are large mirrors to reflect natural light and storage drawers under the bed. And shelf niche headboards on each bed conveniently house a cell phone." Vroom adds that the wall paint and mill work selections "feel warm and bright, which make the spaces feel larger than they actually are." A LOCATION 308 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, B.C. OWNER/DEVELOPER Simon Fraser University PROJECT MANAGER MGC Projects ARCHITECT Raymond Letkeman Architects Inc. GENERAL CONTRACTOR VanMar Constructors Inc. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Bogdonov Pao Associates Ltd. MECHANICAL CONSULTANT MCW Consultants Ltd. ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Jarvis Engineering Consultant Ltd. INTERIOR DESIGN Laura Vroom Design Corp. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT P+A Landscape Architecture Inc. TOTAL SIZE 33,000 square feet CONSTRUCTION COST $7 million (approx.) 8:58 AM 11:49 AM 1:03 PM 10:50 AM