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FEBRUA RY 2017 | 57 City Centre 1 PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY LARK GROUP City Centre 1 by LAURIE JONES I n the ever-changing skyline of Surrey, B.C., a recent addition has been named Innovation Boulevard; a term coined by the City of Surrey and neurologist Dr. Ryan D'Arcy. As an investor in this expanding part of the city, the Lark Group was inspired to develop a large parcel of land in their portfolio to create the Health and Technology District. "We are proposing eight phases for this area," says Larry Fisher, president, Lark Group. "City Centre 1, or CC1 as we call it, is already occupied with an interesting variety of owners and tenants, and we are currently in the process of building City Centre 2. Once that is done, we will begin working on City Centre 3." Located adjacent to the Surrey Memorial Hospital, CC1 is home to 90 specialists that work out of the hospital as well, he says. "This building has really added benefits to the Surrey Hospital, which had a big expansion two years ago." Fisher explains they are building infrastructure that will service medical companies doing clinical trials, including one from Florida using technology from Israel. "We are also doing clinical trials with a company we started called Health Tech Connex, working with Dr. Ryan D'Arcy," he says. "These trials are for a company based in Philadelphia and Montreal. There are a lot of things happening in CC1 that will ultimately benefit people, including one product that could identify the presence of illnesses like cancer, MS or other diseases just from a breath sample, even before the client shows symptoms. The goal is to not only do the research but to get it to market." CC1 features 185,000 square feet of space throughout the 12-storey building, including an on-site gym, 600 parking stalls and ground floor retail space. The project is targeting LEED Gold certification and is a combination of strata space and leased offices. "It's a tower that has both medical and high-tech tenants," says Joel Smith, principal, Wensley Architecture Ltd. "The entire second floor houses the HealthTech Innovation HUB, which is a collaborative space with multiple high- tech tenants that develop technology including apps that serve the medical community. The commercial, retail and restaurant spaces on the main floor provide amenities for both the tenants of the building as well as the hospital and residents in the area." Smith says adding to the architecture of CC1 are multiple outdoor terraces for staff and public, including one that is handicap accessible. "On the roof there is a private terrace for the top floor tenant," he says. "A large third-floor patio has been designed for both day care use and a private space for one of the specialists." Dramatically sloping green roof areas can be seen from the upper floors and buildings nearby. Inside, the building features coved ceiling treatments on the ground floor. Natural materials including porcelain tiles and wood cladding create a modern, clean look for all the elevator lobbies and common areas. "It's a dynamic building with dynamic architecture," says Smith. The winged design of the 24,000-square-foot second floor has sloped, fully-glazed windows. "This is a high-tech feature where start-up companies are located throughout the space," says Walter Janzen, structural engineer, Bogdonov Pao Associates Ltd. "This wing was a challenge to complete because the sloped wings had to be structurally supported." While the structural work is vital, Janzen says all of his work is invisible. "The wing structure is a piece of concrete that is attached to concrete columns with outriggers. It is an interesting design. One room of the wing has a column-free area that was created with a concrete transfer beam that is six-feet wide, six-feet deep. It holds up a portion of the building that is just above the main entrance. The 1:43 PM

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