Project Goals
1. Impactful reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
2. Improve accessibility standards.
3. Create a multi-use building with adaptive design for future occupancies.
4. Highlight civic, social and historical value.
The Cottonwood Bandshell and associated plaza was commissioned by the City of Nelson and supported by the Nelson Izu-shi Friendship Society. The project uses mass timber panels and structural steel to create a profile that is inspired by the mountains and designed for acoustics. All panels of the Bandshell are angled to project sound outward, with wood surfaces that create a visual and acoustic warmth. The oval plaza in front of the Bandshell has been equipped with bollards to supply lighting and electrical services to the Farmers Market and future events.
This new Childcare Facility in Castlegar BC provides the community with much needed child care and after school care spaces. Located in central Castlegar next to the City’s main community centre, playground, and skatepark, the colourful face of the building provides a playful and distinguishing feature to welcome children and their families. The building entrance becomes a characteristic and place-making element within the overall Community Complex site, featuring brightly stained cedar shingles with a colour palette inspired by the surrounding buildings and trees. The Client championed ambitious sustainability targets for this project, and the design and construction team were excited to utilize locally produced wood products from the new Mass Timber facility just kilometres down the road. Designed to achieve Step Code 4 equivalency energy targets, the building’s CLT walls and roof improve the air tightness of the building envelope, while the exposed mass timber surfaces create a natural and inviting environment for the children and their families. The structure establishes an open and flexible floorplan that allows the interior spaces to be programmed to accommodate the operator’s needs.
The Elkford Municipal Hall is a Design Build project in conjunction with Scott Builders from Calgary Alberta. Elkford has needed a new hall for some time, and after looking at a variety of options, the design/build procurement model met all their expectations. The project exceeds the NECB energy requirements, particularly around Air Tightness.
The new Childcare Facility at Selkirk College’s Silver King campus in Nelson BC provides child care to both students and staff, removing barriers for student parents to attend college, as well as a solution for the Early Childhood Care & Education program practicum placements. The building was designed for 24 mixed age child-care spaces and meets BC Step Code 4 equivalency energy targets. Our team designed an inviting environment for the children, their families, and practicum students. The space planning thoughtfully considers how the space will be used by the users and strategies for maximizing play and flexibility in the floor plan.
The new home for the Castlegar and District Chamber of Commerce will be the first Certified Passive House with a predominantly mass timber structure within the Kootenays, and the first Municipal building to do so in all of Canada. COVER has been working closely with local CLT and timber manufacturer Kalesnikoff, to design a mixed-use building that will utilize high-efficiency and ecologically responsible materials. With a combination of uses, this new build will not only be a beacon of environmentally responsible design, but a proponent for a healthy, local economy. COVER has helped secure over $3.5 million dollars in funding to bring this project to reality, through the CleanBC Grant, and from the Columbia Basin Trust.