Project updates: urban renewal and a church in Surrey

Focus Corporation, Golder Associates and DMD were engineers on a $14-million project to revitalize downtown Kelowna in British Columbia. Changes included narrowing Bernard Avenue from a four-lane road to a two lane road, replacing angle parking with parallel parking, and widening sidewalks to 7 metres wide to allow for more trees and cafe space. There are also streetscape improvements such as a gateway feature and the addition of urban braille that provides textural cues in the curbs and sidewalks. Focus did civil engineering, tendering and construction management; Golder did geotechnical and environmental services; DMD did electrical engineering.

The 36,000 sq.ft. Christ Worship Centre in Surrey, B.C. includes a “Lobby of Light” featuring wood frames clad with coloured glass as the primary point of arrival. The centre includes the worship space, a fellowship hall, and also day cares, classrooms, a library, dance studio, dining area and offices. Green features include geothermal heating and cooling, and the use of bioswales throughout the parking area to cleanse and retain stormwater. Acton Ostry are the architects, Fast + Epp are structural engineers and Stantec are mechanical and electrical engineers.