Provincial Wildfire Coordination Centre, Kamloops, BC

Project Status: Construction Completed 2010

 

The Provincial Wildfire Coordination Centre is a specialized office building designed to create a new home for the Ministry of Forests wildfire operations, as an expansion to an existing air tanker centre at the Kamloops Airport.

 

Designed as a LEED Gold building, and with a Wood First mandate, the complex operations of the facility are combined in the fully renovated and updated two storey, 2,500 ft2 tanker centre, combined with the 9,000 ft2 addition to provide 14,000 ft2 of space, and featuring exposed wood structure with curved glulam beams, glulam columns, and exposed wood decking used to create high ceiling feature spaces and allowing extensive daylighting throughout. The building is designed as a post disaster facility, with a special raft slab foundation construction to deal with geotechnical concerns.

 

Control room and briefing rooms, and open office areas, are daylit high spaces providing flexibility, as well as visibility and controllability of light and views, to enhance the operations at peak operating season, and allow scaling of the work force within the facility. Geo-exchange mechanical systems enhance energy efficiency, while low water use features, skylights and efficient lighting and controls are utilized throughout.

 

High windows provide daylighting to interior spaces, while wood features and trims create a warm character throughout. Light coloured metal roofing and high reflectance membrane roofing reduce solar overheating of the building roof, and cooling loads; exposed finished concrete floor areas reduce flooring materials required, and maintenance.

 

Local and regional materials are utilized, with recycled components where feasible, and low VOC and environmentally sustainable products utilized throughout. A major reduction in treated city water use was realized by integrating the air tanker refilling functions, and nearby city discharge of treated effluent, bringing the treated effluent line on site to provide for tanker refilling and utilize non-potable water for wildfire fighting, while also using this source for irrigation on site.

 

Achieved LEED Gold November 2012.