CS&P Architects’ winning ways

CS&P Architects is delighted to be the recipient of the 2013 Architect Wood Advocate Award, presented recently at the annual WoodWORKS! Ontario awards evening. The Toronto-based firm’s Ontario Provincial Police Modernization Project was also honoured with a 2013 National Award for Innovation and Excellence in Public-Private Partnerships from the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships.

THE 2013 WOOD ADVOCATE AWARD

The Wood Advocate Awards recognize architects and decision-makers who regularly specify, design or build commercial, industrial or institutional projects utilizing wood in a significant way. These awards acknowledge individual architects or firms who contribute to the selection of wood in a project, who overcome objections related to wood use in a project, and who lead the way for future projects designed with wood.

Says Paul Cravit, CS&P principal, director of design,”We use wood frequently in many of our projects, not only for its obvious sustainable benefits, but most importantly because wood adds so much to the quality of place we seek in all our work, which resonates powerfully with people.”

CS&P has recently completed a number of recreational projects that incorporate wood, including the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre in Brantford, the Gravenhurst Centennial Centre, and a series of Picnic Shelters in Brampton’s Chinguacousy Park.

THE 2013 AWARD FOR INNOVATION AND EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS 

In another celebration of innovative public facilities that enrich the communities they serve, the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships (CCPPP) has recognized the OPP Modernization Project with a Silver Award for Innovation and Excellence in P3’s for Infrastructure. CS&P led the Planning, Design and Compliance (PDC) Team for this project, which was sponsored by Infrastructure Ontario and delivered by Shield Infrastructure Partnership. The project was based on a DBFM model and consisted of 18 separate facilities, located in 16 towns and cities across Ontario, and had a total value of $292.7 million. The buildings consisted of three types of police facilities – Detachments, Forensic Identification Units and Regional Command Centres – all of which were designed to achieve LEED Silver Certification and were completed on time and on budget.

Says Peter Ortved, CS&P principal, “Our PDC team devoted considerable effort in the planning and design stages to ensuring that the facilities would meet the operational requirements of the OPP. Unquestionably, managing the 16 different sites proved to be the biggest challenge of this assignment and bundling several facilities into one project was a format that Infrastructure Ontario had not undertaken previously.”

When the project achieved substantial completion in November 2012, it was identified as a precedent for future AFP projects – a sentiment that is now reinforced by the receipt of the CCPPP’s 2013 Silver Award for Infrastructure.