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FEBRUA RY 2017 | 65 Carpenters' Union Training Centre RENDERINGS COURTESY N45 ARCHITECTURE INC. Carpenters' Union Training Centre by ZUZANNA WODZYNSKA T he United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBCJA) Local 93 and Local 2041 will have a brand new training centre in Kanata, Ontario in the spring of this year. "Constructing a modern, state- of-the-art training and education facility that will be home to both Locals will allow us to work together as one entity and provide centralized training and education opportunities," says Rod Thompson, president and area manager of UBCJA Local 93. "It will facilitate training and certification for interior systems, carpentry, concrete formwork, scaffolding, flooring and safety-related courses." Once completed, the 64,130-square- foot building will sit in Ottawa's west end with access to good highway infrastructure and public transportation for meetings and student members. The six-and-a-half-acre site is sufficiently large enough to accommodate any future expansions and also to provide members with practical training in an outdoor environment. The large, secure outdoor space will allow students to erect scaffolding, build formwork and create any manner of union- related works in a safe environment. Representing the apprentices and journeypersons trained there, as well as being in a prominent and highly visible location, meant extra care went into the training centre's design. "UBCJA want the building to showcase the carpenters' range of skills within their union responsibilities," explains Robert Matthews at N45 Architecture Inc. "Most people don't know that the carpenters are responsible not just for handling wood materials, but also for drywall, scaffolding, shoring, welding and more, so we used the designs to reflect these skills." The integration of the multiple materials and finishes both in the interior and exterior required extensive co-ordination with the trades and consultants, explains Todd Simpson, beams and decorative cladding of the supporting steel columns. The predominant interior finish is a continuation of the wood esthetic into the two-storey lobby, says Matthews. "This can be seen in the beams carried from the exterior into the lobby and as trim detailing throughout the executive office areas." The use of wood panelling will also be incorporated in the boardroom, assembly hall, display cases and larger furniture elements throughout the building such as the backbone-style stair in the lobby. The stair will have glass guards supported by double steel pickets and finished in black paint and capped with a round wood handrail. The centre itself will contain a combination of office and educational spaces, the latter being significantly larger than the former. Two shop areas will allow staff to train members in the skill sets that are required by each Local. These practical spaces will be paired with tool storage rooms, classrooms and lunch rooms. All training areas will be equipped with state-of-the-art communication and audiovisual systems. "Because this will be a training facility for the trades, we are providing oversize doors to rooms and common areas, as well as extra width in corridors to accommodate the movement of the students and their equipment and tools," says Matthews. "The shops and classrooms are accessed by a wide corridor system, a portion of which will be illuminated by a 185-square- foot clerestory, bringing in natural light, creating a reference point and indicating the main access to the lobby." Daylight harvesting sensors will dim the interior lighting along the building perimeter when sufficient natural lighting will be available to reduce operational and maintenance costs over the life cycle of the building. R. J. McKee Engineering Ltd. collaborated closely with the Union and project manager at M. Sullivan and Son Ltd. "It was important to ensure that all components would be installed as intended while providing a quality finished product," says Simpson. To that end, the exterior design will feature the use of wood, drywall and metals in both fine detail and structural expression. Wood veneer panels will be used in combinations and contrasted with dark grey metal trim and complementary precast panelling. It will also be seen in the principal facade with glulam 8:51 AM

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