Blatchford Development | ?m | ?s | City of Edmonton

[archited]

Hopefully this can be tied into the DES system.

It may be -- NAIT is developing its own system and so it will be one or the other -- Blatchford or NAIT. The Hangar 11 when the NAIT campus is built out in the future will end up nearly dead centre in the new campus.

 

[archited]

Is there a timeline on when the design will be completed

Approximately 3 months -- I should say 3 months at the outside. The existing renderings will be part of the DP process that is currently underway (and there are many more renderings as part of that package) -- the Hangar of course will remain the same since it is existing but the interior and exterior elements are going to undergo dramatic changes from what is seen presently in the outdated renderings.

 

[archited]

I could show a dozen more renderings of what was originally proposed but I don't see the point because they are not going to be what is destined to be built.

 

[CplKlinger]

Approximately 3 months -- I should say 3 months at the outside. The existing renderings will be part of the DP process that is currently underway (and there are many more renderings as part of that package) -- the Hangar of course will remain the same since it is existing but the interior and exterior elements are going to undergo dramatic changes from what is seen presently in the outdated renderings.

Oh my, so that's what your team is working on! I can't wait until we can learn more about this, I know you guys will knock it out of the park. When you say that NAIT is developing their own system, is it another DES? And will this hanger still be primarily for student housing?

 

[IanO]

They were looking at a variety of uses for the building including student housing, market housing, indigenous housing, an innovation centre etc. etc.

 

[archited]

When you say that NAIT is developing their own system, is it another DES? And will this hanger still be primarily for student housing?

Yes, NAIT's system is planned to also be a Distributed Energy Storage system. The reason for the hesitancy vis-a-vis Blatchford vs NAIT is that Hangar 11 will end up being the heart of NAIT and, if going with Blatchford, the two systems would criss-cross. There will be 286 housing units in the Hangar 11 buildout, 1/3 of those potentially reserved for Indigenous students who might attend NAIT, MacEwan University, Norquest College, or the U. of A, all of which will be reachable from Hangar 11 via the new NAIT LRT station literally adjacent. The remainder of the housing units will be totally furnished and set up as general population student housing. There will be an Event Centre used for (among other things such as weddings and graduations) ceremonial Indigenous rites. There will be a fresh produce market with many of the produce items grown in on-site vertical gardens -- the gardens will actually form the perimeter walls of the market. There will be four ground-floor eatery/pubs and two exterior eateries. There will be professional offices, classrooms, and meeting rooms on second and third floor levels. There will not be an innovation centre as such unless you count the whole project as being exceptionally innovative. There now I have said too much already.

 

[Airboy]

Oh my, so that's what your team is working on! I can't wait until we can learn more about this, I know you guys will knock it out of the park. When you say that NAIT is developing their own system, is it another DES? And will this hanger still be primarily for student housing?

Nait has a central power house, but it would need to be upgraded and expanded. So I suspect they are looking at a whole new system. I was part of an assessment team a few years back with another firm and the current plan is near the end of its operational life.

 

[soupcrate]

Very cool stuff, but has the funding situation for the NAIT expansion changed yet?

 

[archited]

So I suspect they are looking at a whole new system

Yes, the proposed new system will reach most (I want to say all, but some of the existing structures may be slated for demolition in a new campus) of the buildings, new or existing.

 

[archited]

has the funding situation for the NAIT expansion changed yet?

I suspect that the funding will change only after a new government is voted in.

 

[JNO1]

Cool project @archited . Very much looking forward to seeing what you and Douglas Cardinal come up with. In the meantime here is a couple shots of the Hangar from this past winter.

 

[archited]

Interesting tidbit -- Douglas Cardinal has a pilot's license and he used to fly out of this hangar for northern destinations and he used to park his Cherokee plane in this very building.

 

[archited]

Also for context -- 286 housing units in Hangar 11 is equivalent in build-out terms to a 30-storey high rise.

 

[IanO]

When speaking with Tim A. with the project, my only concern was adding too much retail or food/bev given just how much footfall you would need through the building each day to support those spaces.

 

[archited]

my only concern was adding too much retail or food/bev given just how much footfall you would need through the building each day to support those spaces

I can't imagine that even remotely being a concern as this will be a prominent central structure in the NAIT campus that already has a student and apprentice enrollment of over 30,000 annually and will only increase as the campus expands, plus an in-house population that itself will exceed 1,000 people, plus a new major destination point for Edmontonians. If anything, what is planned will reach capacity on day one and will be calling for more of the same.