Location: Surrey, British Columbia
Architects:Taylor Kurtz Architecture + Design Inc. & Rounthwaite Dick & Hadley Architects Inc. (Design Architect)
Date of completion: 2015
OAA Awards 2016 Design Excellence Finalist

Located between a light industrial zone and suburban residential development in Surrey, British Columbia, the Surrey Operations Centre and Works Yard Redevelopment provides a contemporary home to the city’s Parks, Roads and Engineering departments’ offices and shops. While this building type is often seen as an urban eyesore instead of friendly neighbour, the Surrey Operations Centre has been carefully designed to reduce its impact on the surrounding residential fabric, helping set a new design benchmark for this often neglected building type.

Photo Credit: Ema Peter

In order to reduce impact on the neighbouring homes, the complex is conceived as a group of long, low structures which act as visual and acoustic screens around the works yard. Taking advantage of the natural grading of the site, the warehouse building is partially buried further reducing the impact on the street and neighbouring residences. A four storey office building, clad in a rhythmic pattern of fritted curtain wall and prefinished metal panels, is the welcoming public face of the project and houses departmental headquarters, a cafeteria, meeting room and training space. Primary access points to the building are marked by cedar-lined recesses, providing material warmth on the cool glass façade. 

Photo Credit: Ema Peter

The fleet maintenance wing, at the centre of the site, contains a repair garage, vehicle wash bays, and mechanics’ workshops, while the adjacent stores and operations wing houses vehicle dispatch, a training room/emergency command centre, and general stores. High-performance vertical bifold doors, typically seen on aircraft hangars, are repurposed for fleet maintenance and workshop access. Clad in curtain wall, they provide an outdoor sheltered work zone when open, avoiding the typical interference with ceiling-level mechanical systems and lighting, maximize natural light, and achieve visual continuity with the building envelope.

Interior of the administrative building. Photo Credit: Ema Peter

The Surrey Operations Centre demonstrates what is possible when design excellence is considered for all building types, setting a new standard for this often neglected building type and celebrating the work of those who build and maintain our municipal infrastructure.

To view the complete submission, including additional images and drawings, please click here.