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76 | A PR IL 2017 Cochrane Aquatic and Curling/Multisport Centre RENDERINGS COURTESY STANTEC Cochrane Aquatic and Curling/Multisport Centre by ROBIN BRUNET E veryone loves Cochrane, Alberta, to the degree that the town's population has swelled by 48 percent in recent years, rendering many public amenities in need of expansion and upgrading. That includes the existing Big Hill Leisure Pool and Cochrane Curling Club, which Suzanne Gaida, senior manager, community services for the Town of Cochrane, describes as, "great facilities for a town whose population was 6,000 when I moved here 24 years ago, but inadequate for the current population of 26,000. "For a long time there had been talk of needing a new pool, and when we undertook an analysis of our community's parks and recreational facilities, a new aquatic centre became one of the priorities." A subsequent feasibility study in 2010 concluded that the facility should be attached to the current Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, and Stantec along with VDA Architecture Limited and Tango Management Group were tasked with bringing the $48-million project to life. Today, the expansion of the sports centre, which is the Cochrane Aquatic and Curling/Multisport Centre, boasts eight, 25-metre lanes suitable for competitive and lane swimming, plus two slides, a hot tub, leisure pool with wave chamber and a warm- water therapy pool. Augmenting this are six full and three junior curling sheets that can be transformed to accommodate other sports. All told, the 150,000 square feet of additional space brings the total size of the Centre to 300,000 square feet. Gillan Carruthers, director of Tango Management Group, echoes the sentiments of his colleagues when he says: "This was a complex project that went very well due to Suzanne's expertise in sports and aquatics, and the Town of Cochrane knowing exactly what it wanted." Gaida, a former pool manager, describes the initial stages of the project as being the most crucial: "We had a committee of 12, including our development team, going over every idea with a fine-tooth comb to determine beforehand what would work and what would not," says Gaida. Stantec designed the facility with functionality as the prime objective; however, it broke with traditional recreation centre design that too often features cramped lobbies. "The first thing that greets you as you walk inside is a huge atrium and feature staircase flanking the pool and curling surfaces," says Gaida. "It's very welcoming – and useful for visitors who are often laden with sports gear." Stantec was careful to continue the original facility's exterior appearance, which adheres to strict town guidelines. "It has a western theme subtly imparted through wood banding and the use of corrugated metal, and we used these materials as well as insulated metal panels for an interesting visual dynamic," says Stantec VP Enzo Vicenzino. "Curtain wall glazing was used for the main entry and rear to bring as much natural light into the complex as possible. And glazing the entire height of the stairwells served two purposes: to break up the mass of the building and meet crime prevention standards." Governing the expansion process was the goal of "accommodating everyone's vision yet making it affordable," according to Gaida. To which Vicenzino adds, "While it was determined that new curling sheets were required for the growing community, curling is a seasonal sport – so we decided to make the space multi-use." Stantec incorporated anchors around the perimeter of this area so that boards can be erected, in order to allow the surface to become a hockey rink if required. With minimal LOCATION 800 Griffin Road East, Cochrane, Alberta OWNER/DEVELOPER Town of Cochrane ARCHITECT/STRUCTURAL/ MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL/CIVIL/ INTERIOR DESIGN CONSULTANT/ LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Stantec CONSTRUCTION MANAGER Tango Management Group AQUATIC CONSULTANT VDA Architecture Limited TOTAL SIZE 300,000 square feet (150,000 square feet of which is comprised of the aquatic and curling/multi-sport centre addition) TOTAL COST $48 million modification, the area can also be a designated space for indoor turf sports, trade shows and other public events. The aquatic venue was designed for everyone from children to adults as well as those in need of hydrotherapy. "To my knowledge, this is the only public aquatic centre in Canada that has a warm water therapy pool in addition to the lap, swirl pool and leisure pool," says Kevin Klippenstein, director of VDA Architecture Limited. "We wanted to make the aquatics special, so everything was custom formed concrete. And to make it the ultimate therapy pool, we sought input from a physiotherapist, hence the installation of multiple jets, including swim jets, as well as ballet bars, grab bars – you name it." Originally there was a push to have the therapy pool closed off from the other pools, but this would have required hiring extra safety staff; instead, Klippenstein designed the pool so that one end buttressed the changing rooms. "That way those in need of therapy can walk directly into the water instead of walking the length of the aquatic centre," he says. Ground broke on the project in March of 2015, and Carruthers describes the construction process as "progressing very well with the project team having overcome a number of challenges that commonly present themselves on projects of this nature and magnitude." By October of 2016, most of the building was enclosed; for HVAC, the Thermenex system was selected, which consists of a patented thermal gradient heater, Thermenex logic controller and modular thermal energy centre. Together, these components move heat energy from where it is not needed to where it is needed using the existing thermal resources already within the building. In short, the building envelope is treated as a thermodynamically closed system. "Thermenex is expected to save us at least 30 percent in total energy costs," says Gaida. "As soon as we see these results, we will look at extending the Thermenex system to include the other portions of our sports centre, and not just the aquatic/curling area." The expanded Centre is scheduled to be fully open by June, and Gaida credits the construction manager, architects and builders for helping make this a facility that will be envied for decades. "It really is a great example of what close collaboration can result in," she says. "The expanded Centre is a wonderful addition to Cochrane." A Fivestar Donalco FM35133.indd

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