Recreation & Community Centres

The Kingston East Community Centre is designed as a state of the art recreational facility that features a full gym and running track, an EarlyON childcare facility, a fitness studio, a splash-pad, and a community kitchen.

The building is uniquely situated amongst existing recreational infrastructure to create a recreation hub for Kingston’s east-end community of Pittsburgh Township. The new facility was designed in compliance with all applicable municipal accessibility design standards and with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).The programming and facilities offered through the new facility promote inclusive and healthy living to the immediate community and beyond.

In conjunction with the goal of enhancing the surrounding area, the Kingston East Community Centre contributes to the City of Kingston’s goal of reducing carbon emissions to become a leader in sustainability and environmental stewardship at a city scale. The facility employs a geothermal field, solar infrastructure, high-performance building envelope, enhanced day-lighting strategies and LED lighting throughout to provide a total-carbon emission reduction of over 50%. A new stormwater management design was developed for the entire site in order to improve drainage and conform with the local conservation authority’s guidelines. New landscaping and plantings will improve the environmental quality of Grenadier park. The project aspires to be a learning tool to highlight the benefits of sustainable design to the community and act as an example for future community centres and public buildings for the City of Kingston.

The City of Vaughan retained +VG Architects in the Spring of 2010 to design the new 10,000 ft² fitness club attached to the multi-use recreation centre and high school in the Village of Vellore.

The facility is to serve as a separate fee fitness club complete with its own change rooms, saunas, and controlled access.

While the change rooms are for the fitness centre, they also have direct access to the pool. The fitness centre is housed primarily in a two-storey glazed area housing the conditioning and weight room. Other facilities include a cycle fit room and testing area. Materials and massing are designed to blend with the existing building, which was completed in 2006.

Victoria Park Stadium is a highly regarded soccer specific stadium in the north-eastern part of the City.

The stadium has been in operation since the 1970’s and required significant upgrades to the fence enclosure, bleacher seating areas and scoreboard, as well as the provision of a Fieldhouse, housing a ticket kiosk, public washroom facilities, and change rooms for the players.

+VG was retained by the City of Brampton to design and administer construction of the various improvements. The project mandate from the client stressed ‘enclosure’ and ‘public gateway’ as key objectives in that events scheduled at the Stadium are often high profile and ticketed.

A material palette was developed for the project that was robust – precast concrete, galvanized steel, and brick. These materials were utilized in combination to create rhythm and interest while unifying the Stadium with the adjacent arena building to create a cohesive recreation complex.

Phase One involved the removal and replacement of the existing fence enclosure, bleacher stands, and scoreboard. The design of the new fence involves a combination of pigmented precast concrete panels and custom-designed galvanized steel channel fence panels that are both robust and opaque. An accent wall in brick was located at the vehicle gate into the Stadium.

Phase Two completes the stadium enclosure with the construction of a new Fieldhouse building along the eastern edge of the field, creating a new public entrance into the stadium. The public enter past the ticket kiosk through a “breezeway” that can be secured with sliding gates when the stadium is not in use. The Fieldhouse also provides public and universal washrooms; two team change rooms, a referees change room, and an alternate change room; and some minor service spaces.

The YMCA Midland Revitalization Project entailed design and contract administration services for the construction of an extensive set of renovation activities within the existing facility.

+VG Architects were initially retained to provide a facility Condition Assessment and Master Plan for the phased implementation of program and deferred maintenance upgrades.

Extensive investigations into building envelope failures were conducted, including destructive testing. Partial re-roofing and wall envelope repairs were performed to remediate the integrity of the vapour barrier, which had been compromised causing the high-humidity air to damage the exterior bonded masonry wall. Key program upgrades included:

• Renovate all Locker Facilities
• Add a new Family Change Room
• New Windows into the Pool & Gymnasium
• New Entrance & Stair at North Side
• Relocate and enlarge Conditioning Area
• Renovate Reception and Public Spaces
• New multi-purpose fitness studios
• Life Safety and HVAC upgrades

The project accomplished twin agendas of extending the usable lifespan of the building for another 25 years, and refreshing the space through a design, which focused on creating light, open, healthy, and inviting spaces.