The Pacific Highway Port of Entry is the busiest commercial crossing in Western Canada.

Busiest in two-way traffic volume and trade. And busiest in two way traffic of passenger vehicles. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, this border crossing processes commercial and passenger vehicles, as well as, buses. It also has Free and Secure Trade (FAST) and NEXUS lanes.

The task? Modernize this 30 year old port. Programmatic functions and operations have advanced throughout the years. And the site had had numerous upgrades and alterations over the years.

One problem was that pedestrian, vehicular and commercial traffic  conflicted with each other throughout the site. Proper visibility from the operations buildings to the PIL booths and inspections area was limited and presented a functional challenge.

The solution? The Functional Program identified the current and projected functional requirements of the Port of Entry and assessed the current facilities and how they met the required program. CTA carried out master planning exercises to address the programmatic, operational and physical deficiencies identified in prior studies. The Master Plan developed the option that provided the most benefits to stakeholders, the least disruption to operations and considered the financial implications including capital and life-cycle cost.

The “ask” in this project was a thrilling one. Create the first purpose-built institution of art and design in the country.

It was an opportunity to captivate and motivate a new generation of thinkers and creators. It also provided a welcoming public venue for the local community. Apart from faculty offices, studios and classrooms, it also includes a dedicated centre for Aboriginal Cultural development, public galleries, a bookstore, and an extensive art, design and media library. The projects was delivered by the Applied Arts Partners in a Public-Private Partnership. The new campus was designed in collaboration with Toronto-based Diamond Schmitt Architects as a joint venture.

What used to be a Marine Tech Park is becoming so much more.

University of Victoria Properties Investments (UVic Properties) is developing the 17 acres into a building space for scientific, research and commercial use for the ocean and marine  industry sectors. Named Ocean Innovation Park, this unique research park will become a focal point for ocean science research on a national and international level. The gathering together of people and organizations of similar interests will reinforce potential synergy. The park will be a self-contained community with all necessary supporting infrastructure for the daily activities of its users. Sustainable features include storm water control, green roof, geothermal heating, energy sharing loop, and orientations to maximize natural ventilation and exposure to natural light. To enhance the work experience the park will have indoor and outdoor amenity space, a walking trail, and sports courts. So the work force will be as healthy as the site design.

The tech sector badly needs some style.

And this 5-storey, multi-tenant research building is an eye-catching start.

It presents a strong corporate image for growing technology companies, while accommodating their diverse research needs.  The use of “plug and play” open work spaces with highly integrated services infrastructure deliver excellent flexibility in the building.

The assignment was a new wet/dry laboratory building to accommodate a wide range of teaching and research activities. It should fit the scale and architectural expression of the existing University of Victoria campus content. Our solution, a new 4 storey building incorporates modular generic concepts that facilitate  flexibility for users, planning and access to services. Right now, the initial uses include wet and dry labs for teaching and research labs and officers for the Earth and Ocean Sciences and Chemistry departments. Plus, large lecture theatres and an Animal Resource Centre. The building is physically connected Into adjacent science facilities with a bridge connection to aid communication within the science campus.

The client said:

“I’ve heard nothing but praise for the flood of natural light that the large banks of windows provided by your design allow. It is not common that new buildings on university campusesexceed the expectations of their occupants…. and it  does so dramatically.”

 Thomas F. Pederson, Dean of Science

When we started design on this project we didn’t know the specific users. A little unusual, but we allowed for it in the process. We designed a space that incorporates a generic, modular, and highly flexible approach to the building layout based on what would normally be used for a commercial multi-tenant model. The resulting 3-storey research building is suitable for a wide range of research activities including highly specialized research and support office space for science and engineering. Space was built for wet labs, dry labs, offices, meeting rooms, laser labs, clean rooms, STEM microscopes and a vivarium and production studio once we confirmed the specific user needs. TASC 2 is part of the campus pedestrian network system and includes two major public spaces.

The client said:

 The design team… whose inspiration and energy led a group of researchers with diverse objectives to create a facility that established a new baseline for university research facilities...masterfully piloted an innovative solution.

Bill Nelson, Project Services Manager