February 13, 2006

Rising building costs can mean design opportunities

By Jean Sorenson

The rising cost of construction in B.C., as announced by VANOC for the 2010 Olympics, is creating new opportunities for architectural design, says David Wilkinson, vice-president of the Architectural Institute of B.C. and a principal in Cannon Johnstone Architecture Inc. in Victoria, contracted to design the Richmond Oval speed skating facility for the winter games. And, the results may surprise many that come to B.C. to see the legacy buildings that are created in this climate.

“Some impractical means of construction are becoming practical,” says Wilkinson speaking of the escalating costs of materials. Traditional components that architects may have used in the past such as steel, which is ramping up in price as world demand grows, is now being challenged by other building materials such as wood. Wilkinson gives the example of the oval skating rink that his firm has designed in Richmond, B.C. where his company is eyeing the use of long-span, glue-laminated wooden beams to support the long span roof structure. At one time, he says, the use of wood would have been deemed too costly but steel prices are edging up and opening new doors. Currently, he says, engineers are working to determine whether spans over 100 meters can be done in the roof. “If it is successful it will be convergence of technology and the willingness to show Canadian wood products,” he says.

He calls the use of Canadian wood an “elegant” solution to the construction problem and wood was used heavily in rinks in Olympic structures in Japan and Norway. “We all have high hopes and you will know if we were successful or not by looking up when the building opens and seeing either wood or steel.”

VANOC figures indicated that steel costs from the original bid to 2005 had increased 40.4%, reinforcing bar 57.7%, asphalt 20%, concrete form work 20-25%, excavation costs 12-16%, and piling work by 15-20%.

As material costs shift, architects designing the Olympic buildings will search for alternate solutions, says Wilkinson to ensure that buildings reflectsa West Coast feel and stays on budget. While VANOC has announced a $110 million cost over-run in its new budget, it also identified in additional $85 million in building efficiencies that could be achieved as it conducted a project by project review. There is little chance that B.C. will end up with shoe-boxes for Olympic sites, though. “That would only happen if the projects went hopefully off track and had to be built at the last moment,” says Wilkinson. He says the architects, construction crew and engineers are working together as a team with the clients to ensure that costs are realistic. He says it is often only the client or public that is not aware of the escalating construction costs that are being seen in the market today. As such, the “over-run” is not a cost over the bid figure as it is a truer estimation of what it will cost to build the structures in today’s market.

The buildings left over after the Olympics will reflect West Coast design and provide taxpayers with the value they are looking for. “They will be great buildings that showcase the games themselves and B.C. residents will want to know they are being left with buildings that have a long life,” he says.

One advantage that B.C. has is that West Coast design is often clean and simple – much like Scandinavian design – that will provide several advantages such as reduce costs and also extend the life of buildings as they can be adapted to future uses more easily.

Architects will rise to the challenge of bringing in legacy buildings even in the hot market, says Wilkinson.<0x00A0>“Architectural excellence is not really based on cost,” he says, and when there is the need to rein costs in there is the opportunity to be inventive in design. “Necessity is the mother of invention,” he says, and that translates into new exciting ways to meet the deadline.

Print | Email | Comment