Project Description Taylor Kurtz in associate with Roundwaith Dick + Hadley Architects werecommissioned to design the new Central Works yard and Operations Centre for the City of Surrey. The commission involved a detailed review of the city’s functional requirements as well as staffing and operational projection for present day, 10 year and 20 year time frames. The project consists of the following programmatic elements:
• A 95,000sf East Operations Centre comprised of a four storey Administration and Operations Block and a single storey Workshops and Support Facilities Block. • A 14,000sf North Storage / Warehouse Building providing general purpose storage and loading space for the Engineering, Civic Facilities and Parks Departments. • A 48,000sf West Fleet Maintenance Building including Vehicle Maintenance Bays, Related Shops, Main Stores, Small Tools Repair, Parts and Tools Storage and the Pumps and Controls Shop. The Site General Arrangement includes Fleet Parking, exterior covered and uncovered storage, existing and expanded Salt/Sand Storage, Brine Tanks, Material Bins, Recycling and Disposal Ramps/Bins, Decanting Facility, Vehicle and Equipment Wash Bay, enhanced and organized vehicle and pedestrian circulation and improvements to the existing open natural watercourse on 66th Avenue.
Architectural Form & Character The overall site plan is mainly comprised of linear elements running north-south, comprising buildings, parking, and storage zones. In this way an overall architectural rhythm on the site is established to link the disparate built elements. Carefull considered, offsets in plan and section begin to define the basic architectural character of the buildings as a collection of simple rectilinear forms ‘slipping’ past one another.
The new Operations and Administration Centre figures prominently on the 148th Street frontage and will provide a welcoming civic face to the entire Works Yard. The proposed architectural form and character of the new buildings features a simple arrangement of elegant but economical blocks, finished in glazed curtain wall and metal panels with some well considered faceted accents in clear finished cedar cladding.
Interior Design The Main Operations building incorporates a 4 storey atrium / circulation space that draws natural light from the roof level through the office floors to the lobby at the ground floor. In addition the atrium provides a highly visible central circulation spine that facilitates increased interaction between the previously disparate departments. At each floor a glazed coffee/tea area overlooks the atrium to reinforce this interaction and promote collaboration through casual encounters.
The layout of the office floors follows a general open plan arrangement where private offices are located in the central core borrowing natural light across the lower workstations along the east and west perimeter.
Sustainable Design The facility is targeted to achieve LEED Silver Certification and is to be 40% more energy efficient than a typical Operations Building. Green strategies include a sophisticated Building Management System, heat recovery units, LED light fixtures, low volume plumbing fixtures, occupancy light sensors, operable windows and fully glazed overhead doors that provide natural ventilation and deep daylight penetration to both administrative and operations work areas, highly reflective roof surfaces and fully accessible intensive green roofs, native no maintenance vegetation and storm water management and retention system, green parking standards as well as vehicle charging stations.
