Award

FEBRUA RY 2018 | 59 not only for the site and architectural design, but to also follow the District of West Vancouver Ambleside streetscape standards," explains Jennifer Wall, landscape designer from van der Zalm + associates inc. "The other notable landscape feature is a small amenity space that originally began as a rain garden, but transformed to having underground water storage with a low- profile landscape on top." This space has basalt slabs scattered throughout, with a seating node overlooking the bands of Veronica and Isotoma. "Designed as a post-disaster facility, the new building employs a robust con- crete structure designed to withstand significant seismic events," notes Thimm. "It also includes redundan- cies in the mechanical and electrical systems, a large water reservoir to sup- plement the fire suppression system, and a sizable backup generator capable of running for 72 hours." Moving a 24/7 policing operation involved many unique challenges and needs. The option to close for a few days or over the weekend to set up a new facility does not exist. "Planning for the police move was started a year in advance of the actual move," notes John Wong, manager of facili- ties and assets for the District of West Vancouver. "It included co-ordinating with outside agencies such as E-Comm, RCMP, Telus and Shaw to ensure these agencies could plan accordingly and make the move seamless." It also included maintaining and documenting security of exhibits and confidential files, safely and securely moving fire- arms and other use-of-force tools, and ensuring all key technical systems were functional and compliant with all regulatory requirements. The timeline created other chal- lenges as well. "The District sold the property that the existing station occu- pied to a local developer, agreeing to have the police moved out of that facility by the end of 2017," remembers Thimm. "Multiple bid packages were issued over the course of several months so that demolition and foundation work could commence before design of the upper floors was complete." Cheema adds: "SBW had to over- come many challenges presented by this building from the constructability of a post-disaster building to the time- frame in which it needed to be built. With help of the consulting team, we managed to piecemeal the tender pack- ages and fast track the project to meet the firm deadline of the police move. Furthermore, we worked closely with the structural engineer to design a flat slab system in order to utilize a state- of-the-art skydeck forming system, which further helped accelerate the project duration." Phase two of the project will entail the seismic upgrade and renewal of the existing Municipal Hall, and phase three will include the construction of a new Fire and Rescue Services building and Ambulance Services building. "A project of this type has not been done anywhere else. It has freed up space and allowed us to move staff out of dilapidated buildings around the community and bring all employ- ees together to serve our community," comments Nina Leemhuis, chief admin- istrative officer for the District of West Vancouver. "Bringing police and munic- ipal staff together creates a sense of co-operation and partnership, so that the priority of being a customer-centric organization can now actually happen." Len Goerke, chief constable of the West Vancouver Police, elaborates: "Residents can now be assured West Vancouver Police will remain able to respond in the event of a major seis- mic or other natural emergency, while all residents and employees of West Vancouver Police can readily access all areas of an important public building, regardless of mobility challenges." A PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY DISTRICT OF WEST VANCOUVER West Vancouver Police Services & Municipal Hall Project Rendering by S2 Architecture Harris Rebar.indd 1 2016-11-03 1:24

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