LOCATION WEST VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA
ARCHITECT PATKAU ARCHITECTS
The Gleneagles Community Centre is located on a sloping site adjacent to a golf course, and the program is organized on three levels to limit the area of the building footprint. By reshaping the cross-sectional topography of the site, the lower and intermediate levels can both be located at grade. The intermediate level is accessible from a generous porch along the street and contains a community “living room,” caf, meeting room, administration and child care facilities. The lower level opens on the opposite side of the building to covered terraces and courtyard spaces adjacent to the golf course, and includes a gymnasium, multi-purpose room, arts room, and outdoor specialty area. The upper level accommodates fitness facilities.
The section energizes the building. The gym- nasium and multi-purpose rooms rise through the three levels; walls that separate these volumes from adjacent spaces are glazed to facilitate visual connection within the building. Simultaneous views of multiple activities animate the interior, and the life of the building and the energy of the place are palpable to the community within and without.
The structural system consists of cast-in-place concrete floor slabs, insulated double-wythe tiltup concrete end walls and a heavy timber roof. This structure is used as part of the interior climate control system of the building, and acts as a huge thermal storage mass. A giant static heat pump absorbs, stores and releases energy to create an extremely stable and robust indoor climate with constant temperatures inside occupied spaces, regardless of exterior climate. Radiant heating and cooling in both floors and walls maintains a set temperature, as the concrete surfaces act alternately as emitters or absorbers. The thermal energy for this system is provided by water-to-water heat pumps via a ground-source heat exchanger under the adjacent parking area. The mechanical plant required to do this is 40% of the capacity of a conventional HVAC plant, resulting in both fewer and smaller equipment requirements, which means reduced material consumption and space requirements. Roof overhangs provide protection from winter rains, shield interiors from excessive local solar loads in summer, and discharge storm water into adjacent landscape swales to permeate back into the site.
Ventilation is accomplished using a displacement system. 100% fresh air is tempered and supplied at low velocity at low levels. This air rises, flushing contaminants upward, where it is then captured and exhausted. Since air is not being used as a medium for climate control, openable windows and doors do not affect the performance of the heating and cooling system.
John McMinn: Sheltered under the encompassing gesture of a large overhanging roof, the building deftly negotiates a subtle level change between a busy suburban street to the east and a protected lower court to the west. This sectional shift is further accentuated with a spatial juxtaposition of scale with the large volume of the gymnasium, contrasting the more intimate stacked program spaces of the lobby, public areas and exercise rooms, providing strong visible connections between all parts of the building.CA
CLIENT DISTRICT OF WEST VANCOUVER
ARCHITECT TEAM JOHN PATKAU, PATRICIA PATKAU, DAVID SHONE, OMER ARBEL, GREG BOOTHROYD, JOANNE GATES, SAMANTHA HAYES, PATRICK O’SULLIVAN, CRAIG SIMMS, NICK SULLY
STRUCTURAL FAST & EPP
MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL EARTH TECH CANADA
CIVIL WEBSTER ENGINEERING
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT VAUGHAN LANDSCAPE PLANNING & DESIGN
PROJECT MANAGEMENT MAURICE J. OUELLETTE CONSULTING
CODE CONSULTANTS GAGE-BABCOCK & ASSOCIATES
AREA 24,068 FT2
BUDGET $4.675 M
COMPLETION MARCH 2003