At the P&WC plant in Halifax, components for its new PurePower PW800 engines are manufactured among other items like engine blades.

As part of ongoing improvements, PW&C retained Nycum to design upgrades to its Lobby. The project addressed a number of functional and aesthetic issues as well as new security processes, upgrades to the exterior envelope and the creation of welcoming spaces for its guests and customers.

To convey the focus on precision, quality and safety – hallmarks of a jet engine maker – we worked closely with PW&C leadership to develop a restrained interior palette that favoured light colours and interesting textures that balanced organic materials and precision manufacturing. Large format tiles were introduced with a subtle pattern, wrapping floors and walls and neutral backgrounds allowed the inherent beauty in walnut to come through in the cabinetry and wood doors. Area rugs and carpet were used to warm up waiting and work spaces with tone on tone texture underfoot.

We re-worked the entry sequence to introduce new security gates and an improved flow for employees and guests. New waiting areas with comfortable furniture were developed and a guest washroom was re-worked and re-oriented to enhance convenience and privacy.

We worked with PW&C’s branding and signage consultant to integrate corporate standards into the interior of the space – important corporate values are expressed and integrated with the palette and layout and a fully glazed wall was added to an existing meeting and interview room providing a blank canvas for a luminous abstract interpretation of a PW&C engine.
The exterior upgrades feature a new glazing system that emphasizes vertical lines to pay homage to the béton brut finish of the existing building while highlighting the precision and dependability that are fundamental to the PW&C brand. The cladding of the entry canopy was replaced with new stainless steel panels that reference the very technical and machined nature of the plant’s work.

In The Convoy scheme, each of the three main programmatic components, the Shiphouse, the Interpretive Centre and the Memorial Hall, is housed in a distinct volume. These elongated bars then shift apart as they respond to the dynamic influences of city and harbour. This design was based on a heavylift docking system for HMCS Sackville.

The Shipyard scheme is conceived as a two-bar arrangement with a covered central arcade celebrating Halifax’s maritime heritage and functioning as an activity space for the entire city. A glazed enclosure to the south provides full profile views of HMCS Sackville from the approach along the boardwalk from the cruise ship terminal. This design was developed using a shiplift with lateral transfer.

The Gateway (Crossing the Bar) approach recalls the historic gateway arch which used to stand on Sackville Landing and the temporary arches that were traditionally built across streets and at Grand Parade in Halifax to celebrate victories in battle or visiting royalty. The Shiphouse, oriented parallel to the shoreline, is located at the eastern edge of the site, as far out in the harbour as possible. A corresponding structure containing the interpretive and memorial functions rises along the boardwalk. The large opening carved from its mass frames full profile views of HMCS Sackville from the city. This design is based around utilizing a graving dock which allows HMCS Sackville to remain at a natural waterborne elevation.

SmithGroupJJR, memorial, museum and cultural architecture, material preservation specialist, civil engineering, lighting design, landscape architecture and urban design
Ralph Appelbaum Associates, exhibit and interpretive design
Hepburn and Sons LLC, graving dock designer
William Cogar, facilitator and scholarly expert (naval history)
F.C. O’Neill Scriven & Assoc’s Limited, mechanical and electrical Engineering
PINTO Engineering Ltd., structural engineering
Hanscomb Limited, budgeting and cost planning.

The facility supports the needs of a province-wide instructor program where instructors collect materials such as ACTARs (CPR training aids) and manuals in the morning, returning them at the end of the day to be cleaned, processed and stored. Atlantic administrative headquarters for St. John Ambulance (SJA) are also housed in the building.

A clear floor plan for the building carefully arranges the functions to be discrete, yet linked where they support and enhance one another. The straightforward design means that students, administrative staff and instructors are all accommodated and supported. Through careful planning, development of multi-use spaces, careful material selections and a close working relationship with the Contractor, the new SJA headquarters provides highly functional and low-maintenance and cost effective facilities.

The new building, located in Highfield Park in Dartmouth utilizes very efficient heating, ventilation and lighting systems to produce comfortable, low-maintenance environments that are highly energy efficient. Heat pumps allow excess heat from high-occupancy areas to be reused in heating low-occupancy areas. The same equipment allows morning solar heat gain on the more highly glazed eastern side of the building to be transferred to the colder western side of the building.

The new headquarters for SJA needed to serve the programmatic functions of training, education and administration, but also maintain a sense of brand identification with the larger national and global non-profit organization. The building maintains a low, single-storey profile and employs variation in massing, roof lines and material to break the building into smaller, less imposing forms – more in keeping with the character of the surrounding neighbourhood. Site lighting was carefully selected and oriented to minimize light disruption to the adjacent properties, while providing adequate security lighting after hours.

Our services on this project included: Building assessment, functional programming, site assessment and recommendation, architecture and interior design, and contract and construction administration.

We designed the fit-up of existing space in the airport’s International and Domestic departures lounge and Transborder facility, replacing one existing duty free store with two new locations.

This renovation required extreme sensitivity in the management of two competing mandates: 1) the respect for and preservation of an historic architectural archive of significant heritage and beauty, and 2) the intervention of a nationalized commercial design brand accustomed to ground-up construction in suburban retail/business parks unaccustomed to a heritage preservation mandate. While these competing mandates posed a challenge from a client standpoint, they provided opportunity for the design team.

The result is a rich environment that reshaped the brand’s perspective on the commercial value of preservation, sustainability, urbanism and heritage.

“This is our first restaurant where we gave some good latitude to the architect. I think we’re going to go that way from here on.”
– Demetri Tsigos, COO, Bâton Rouge Restaurants, The Chronicle Herald, June 14, 2011

“It’s a beautiful spot… the decor and outfitting is so very classy yet cleverly in keeping with the historic property.”
– Jeremy Webb, columnist, The Chronicle Herald, June 19, 2011