Located in Etobicoke, on the western end of the City of Toronto, the 2.3 hectare Centennial Park Pan Am BMX Centre is home to the BMX cycling competitions at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games. The 350-metre long compact closed-looped track consists of four straightaways and three banked turns filled with challenging jumps. The centre is the most recent addition to Centennial Park, an important sports and recreation hub in the region. A truly one of a kind project, the BMX centre was an unusual and exciting design challenge for Kleinfeldt Mychajlowycz Architects (KMA Inc.), the Ontario practice responsible for the design of the permanent facility. In this post of “The Architects behind the Games”, KMA Inc. shares with us their experience with this unique project.

From the architects:

BMX (Bicycle Moto Cross) sport is a recent entry in the Olympic and Pan Am Games, beginning in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. In Canada, the new track in Centennial Park is the first and only Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) certified track and is a Legacy Project of the TO2015 Games.

KMA Inc. was the successful proponent in a public RFP and joined with Elite Trax Inc. to design the permanent facility consisting of start gates, track and public parking. This project has been an exciting ride from start to finish. The only available site for this dirt track sport was the low point in the drainage flow of Centennial Park starting at Eglinton Avenue and a great deal of effort went into the design of the subgrade drainage system.

As architects, the design and construction of the two start ramps, one at eight metres high for professional riders and the second at five metres for learners was technically interesting and allowed us to use a pallet of materials not generally available for built projects. These include walls and roofs of galvanized steel pipe sections, board formed concrete and a retaining wall in excess of 40 metres. We learned the elegant sectional design and technical requirements for a stable and challenging ride from Elite Trax Inc. Together, with the City of Toronto and TO2015, we have developed a facility that is at the forefront of an ever evolving sport that thrives on innovation and change.

Perhaps one of the most rewarding aspects of the project was working closely with a contractor not from a traditional building background but of earthworks. Gateman Milloy began as builders of golf courses. Their expertise proved invaluable to the team and the project.

All in all, this project was so far out of our comfort zone that we feel we have crossed the finish line first and are ready to go again!

*The Centennial Park Pan Am BMX Centre hosted all Pan Am BMX events from July 10 to July 11. Following the Games, the public will have access to this new facility.