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FEBRUA RY 2018 | 43 Trades Training Facility – Northern Lights College RENDERING + PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY MCFARLAND MARCEAU ARCHITECTS LTD. Trades Training Facility – Northern Lights College by ZUZANNA WODZYNSKA N orthern Lights College in Dawson Creek, B.C. will have a brand new Trades Training Facility opening this spring. Expected to be completed by June, it will replace a series of old buildings that were getting increas- ingly costly to operate. "They used a lot of energy to keep warm in the winter, were in constant need of repair, and each building had its own parking lot making it difficult and expensive to maintain snow removal," says Mark Heartt, dean of trades and apprenticeships at Northern Lights College. "Moreover, many programs require some welding and cutting, which meant we had to purchase sep- arate equipment because it was too difficult to move it between buildings." The LEED Gold-targeted build- ing will bring all students under one roof. With all the trades in one build- ing, sharing equipment that is used in multi-program areas will be easier. A geotechnical investigation was performed by Northern Geo Testing and Engineering to determine a suit- able building foundation type based on the soil and groundwater conditions encountered. "Geotechnical engineering reviews and quality control materials testing were performed during con- struction to confirm the foundation was installed as per design, that the materi- als used met project requirements for quality and installation, and to address any soil or groundwater concerns," says Rhonda Mellafont from Northern Geo Testing and Engineering. The design of the building features an arctic corridor, a large heated space that links all of the teaching shops, as well as a heated link connecting the new building to the existing Campus Centre, explains Michael Hammock, architect on the project from McFarland Marceau Architects Ltd. The company provided both architectural and land- scaping services for the new facility. "The building's ancillary boneyard space uses waste heat from the shops to keep it at a comfortable temperature during the winter," says Hammock. Down the length of the east- ern facade there will be translucent, coloured glazing that is intended to represent the colours and patterns of the northern lights. "At night, the facade will come to life using dynamic LED lighting, giving the college a strong and exciting municipal street presence," notes Hammock. The south facade is a thermal wall, using sunlight to pre-temper supply air to reduce the building's heat- ing load, while primary heat will be sourced from a large biomass boiler located in the adjacent Clean Energy Technology Centre of Excellence (CECET) Energy House. A green roof terrace will face the upper classrooms and instruc- tors' offices, and the new facility has two new landscaped courtyards for the campus. "These will be sculpted with gentle berms featuring native, drought-resistant plant species, shrubs and ground cover," explains Hammock. "Boulders and flat land- scape rocks will add texture to the landscaped grounds." Due to the extreme climates experienced in the region, extra steps were needed to ensure plantings not only survive but thrive. "One cannot base a planting scheme solely on the hardiness zone of the area," comments Mel McCutcheon from Bare Hands Landscaping who will be installing the softscaping for the project. "Factoring in exposure and under- standing microclimates is key to plant longevity and sustainability. It is the collaborative effort between the designer and the installer that guaran- tees a successful project." The east courtyard will provide an integrated way to mark the main entrance to Northern Lights College, while also creating a new exterior space to enhance the student expe- rience. "Both the east and west courtyards are expected to be well- used social spaces during the warmer months, fostering a sense of campus community," says Hammock. Structurally, the primary mate- rial is engineered timber. "There was a time when the Wood First Act and LEED standards provided a determin- ing incentive for the overall design team to use wood on a project," adds Eric Karsh, principal at Equilibrium Consulting Inc. "Now, with so many successful precedents to draw from, our choice of wood is primarily moti- vated by the appropriateness of the material for a specific project and its many intrinsic qualities over alterna- tive materials." 8:15 AM 2:31 PM

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