The project is a joint-use partnership between the City of Edmonton and the Edmonton Eskimos Football Club; combining football operations, stadium programming, and a community centre.

Three primary masses – Field House, Aquatics and Gymnasium – respond to the dynamic triangulated geometries of the site and frame a central lobby space, ‘the Social Heart’. These in turn define three exterior forecourt spaces.

The building responds to the scale of the stadium and its dynamic nature. The pool massing creates a prow-like gesture, suggesting speed and movement. A southern canopy shields direct light and unifies with the taller field house mass. Metallic cladding is carved to reveal a tessellated phenolic wood panel system, rationalizing envelope geometries.

The project’s planning interconnects the fabric of a distressed neighborhood, creates a year round community park, and draws the public from all three sides to a new social core. Park promenades are developed N–S and E–W through the building to connect community, transit, and the recreation centre.

This LEED Silver Targeted project adaptively reuses the existing 1978 recreation centre. The building envelope is designed to the exacting standards of PERSIST. No additional parking was added. The project is designed as a Transit Oriented Development (TOD). Notable sustainable features include: natural ventilation, solar wall, clerestory and skylight daylighting, ceramic frit and triple glazing solar and thermal control, and canopy solar shading.

The project is designed to allow the three partnering but diverse groups to share their program specific amenities for mutual benefit and revenue. The project elevates the project type of ‘Recreation Centre’ to an important civic and social meeting space. The rigor of the architectural expression and quality of the detailing sets a Western Canada standard for this project type.

Check out our BLOAAg article for more information. Publish Date : 2021/Jun/29