Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/988637
J UNE 2018 | 71 RENDERING COURTESY ARCHITECTTURA INC. New Windsor City Hall It was determined that exterior materials should be a mix of insulated metal panel (for the top of the facility); cement board as the main finish; win- dow wall, and architectural concrete block at the base. Wood plank soffits at ground level would impart a degree of warmth to visitors and staff. Initially there was concern among city councillors about the energy con- sumption of a building with so much glass. "But the simple solution to this was vertical and horizontal sunshade louvers, to mitigate heat gain," says Al-Yassiri. "An in-ground heating sys- tem in the atrium meant there would be no overworking of the building's heating/cooling systems; the canopy between City Hall and 400 will help mitigate heat gain, and punched win- dows on the north and south sides of the building rather than curtain wall glazing system contributes to energy efficiency." D&M Glass & Mirror Ltd. of Windsor was responsible for the pro- vision and installation of all exterior glass wall cladding and sunshades. Oscar Construction Company Limited broke ground on the site just south of the existing City Hall in June of 2016, and despite a harsh winter the steel structure was in place by March of 2017. "As of April of this year we are 95 percent finished with occupancy expected next month," says Al-Yassiri. Decommission and demolition of the old city hall will commence in September, and this will create space for the devel- opment of the new city plaza, which is expected to be completed by 2020. Al-Yassiri echoes the sentiments of his colleagues when he says of the new City Hall, "We are incredibly happy with the final outcome, which incidentally hasn't changed much in appearance from its initial design conception." He goes on to note that, "In retro- spect, the project had a minimum of setbacks and a maximum of goodwill between all parties, with a bonus being that at least 80 percent of the total work crews were from Windsor, meaning that any additional services we need in the future can be easily accessed. "Yes, it was sometimes challenging to get design sign-off from stakehold- ers, but that's only because everyone wanted the best possible results. And thanks to our incredible architects and builders, we've achieved exactly that." A exp.indd 1 2018-05-22 8:28 AM Concrete.indd 1 2018-05-02 2:55 PM 2:49 PM 11:35 AM 1:13 PM Quinn Roofing Solutions.indd 1 2018-05-24 7:58