Project Completion: Ascent North

Ascent North is the final phase of a new multi-family housing project in Kelowna, BC. This phase consists of two, five-storey buildings which provide 160 residential units (80 units in each building). The units are comprised of a total of 16 bachelor suites, 32 one-bedroom, 84 two-bedroom, and 28 three-bedroom units. There is underground parking under each building and behind the waterfall units. All waterfall units are street-facing with direct access to the city sidewalk. Amenity spaces include a stand-alone community building.

All buildings are designed to meet BC Energy Code Step 4 requirements. Ascent North is another multi-family development in Highstreet Ventures’ portfolio of rental and sales units. We are so pleased to be helping to provide much-needed housing in Kelowna. Zac recently completed a final walk-through and snapped these photos.

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Welcome New Team Member

On February 9th, we welcomed a new team member, Faraz Aghajafari. A Registered Architect (AAA), Faraz holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Tehran University of Art and a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Calgary. Having practiced in Calgary and Toronto since 2018, he brings extensive experience to our Kelowna office, with a portfolio that spans high-rise, mixed-use, and multi-family residential projects, as well as commercial and industrial developments. We are excited to add his expertise in design and project management to the firm. Welcome, Faraz!

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New Project: Pioneer Lodge Expansion

Berry Architecture is currently undertaking another seniors’ housing project—this time in Lloydminster, Alberta. The Pioneer Lodge Expansion Project entails demolishing and re-developing a portion of the existing building to increase housing capacity, expand food services and dining areas, add new administration offices and amenity areas, and improve the existing building systems for the Lodge. It also involves new construction which will contain approximately 23 independent living units and 43 lodge suites—these will be a combination of one and two bedroom suites. We are currently almost finished with the conceptual design phase and will be moving forward with additional schematic design. Below is a proposed site massing diagram.

BAA Team News

Exciting news at Berry Architecture! Intern Architects, Noemie Llaurency and Nora Boctor, have both passed their architectural registration exams! This is one of the final steps on their journeys to become registered architects—Noemie with the AIBC and Nora with the AAA. Next steps are completion of their last few internship hours in a couple of categories and then a final oral interview. We are very pleased to have them join our team of registered architects in the near future. Congratulations to you both!

Here are some things we’ve been up to:

George and Isaac were on a business trip to the UK on January 23rd to 31st. They had a number of meetings in London and Cambridge, as well as a side trip to Bath. They enjoyed soaking in the fabulous architecture of these cities, as well as the many work connections they made. Stay tuned for more UK news!

With some of our new staff needing private offices in Red Deer, we recently did a small renovation to add interior windows to spaces formerly used as meeting and storage rooms. They were designed to coordinate with the rest of the interiors, bringing much needed light to the spaces and looking good too! Thank you to Gord for all his hard work on the reno!

On February 3rd, Noemie attended the Grand Opening of Steeples StrongStart and Childcare facility in Cranbrook. Events included a ribbon-cutting ceremony, speeches, and facility tours. It is so rewarding for us to see projects that benefit our communities coming to fruition. Thank you to the team who worked on the project!

On February 11th-12th, George and Suman attended the Buildex Conference in Vancouver. Suman completed several sessions on Mass Timber and how it can be an economical construction choice. George’s sessions focused on energy, carbon reduction, and the importance of social value in architecture. They both completed sessions directly related to providing maximum value and ROIs on all projects.

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Did you know?

The University of Saskatchewan is researching a more sustainable concrete option. They’ve found that adding biochar (a carbon-rich powder made by burning plant waste) can partially replace cement in concrete, reducing carbon emissions. Biochar infused concrete showed significantly higher strength, lower porosity, and enhanced hydration phases. They are currently working to determine if the strength holds up over time.

Sources:
Progress and prospects of biochar as concrete filler. A review - Science Direct
Greening the production of cement - News I University of Saskatchewan