Case Study: Commonwealth Community Recreation Center

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter.  

Fluropon® finish from Sherwin-Williams Coil Coatings offers durability to the connected design of the Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre. 

The city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, transformed the vacant Commonwealth Stadium ground, into a vibrant, integrated facility for the entire community to use in 2012. As only the second recreation center built in the area in over 30 years, the City of Edmonton and the Edmonton Eskimos Football Club decided this joint project should establish a facility that added value to the neighborhood, create a year-round location that draws in the community and meet the requirements for a LEED Silver Certification. 

Together, HIP Architects (now Kasian) and MJMA Architects took the existing stadium fitness center built in 1978 and proposed the construction of an inclusive facility that combined the field house, fitness center, pool and Eskimos Football administration areas under one innovative and dynamic structure.  

The new building is four stories of space, totaling 220,000 square-feet of stadium activities, football operations, a community and fitness center, yoga studios, an indoor track, childcare center and administrative offices. 

The architects took a unique approach to choosing materials to use for the exterior of the recreation center. They decided to use Vicwest Tradition 100-4, .91mm pre-painted galvanized standing-seam steel cladding gives the center its bold, steel roofline. These panels are made of a versatile and flexible material that can wrap around the entire complex in a continuous and uniform fashion. The material was perfect for the cascading design of the recreation center’s promenade that connects a gymnasium, aquatics hall and field house.  

This cost-effective cladding enhances the angular design of the facility while connecting the full design together. Vicwest steel panels deliver project efficiency and design excellence, with additional benefits stemming from the Fluropon® finish from Sherwin-Williams Coil Coatings that coats the metal. The Bright Silver color provides durability for the monumental structure, exceeding AAMA 2605 performance criteria and offering exceptional resistance to UV rays, outstanding color retention and consistency and high-film integrity. 

These materials will make for a resilient building complex that will withstand the daily wear from constant use of the space.  

Already, the Eskimos Football team has made great use of the pool, track and fitness center. The community regularly accesses the field house and meeting rooms, and the stadium operations host additional events in the field house. 

Project credits:

Architect: MJMA Architects 

Associated architects: HIP Architects (now Kasian) 

Steel panels: Vicwest 

Coatings: Sherwin-Willaims Coil Coatings Fluropon® Bright Silver

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Photo credit: Tom Arban