KINGS MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

• Stantec

Kings Municipal Complex

» Scope of Project

Kings Municipal Complex is the County’s new centre for municipal operations, providing a single point of service to the community. It includes council chambers, conference space, public meeting rooms and department offices, as well as the municipality’s new public works garage.

The 24,000 SF complex demonstrates efficiency and economy of design, and the creative use of sustainable technologies. It is an example of a high-performance workplace, that is innovative and user-friendly. The goal was to create a complex to accommodate municipal operations, that residents would be proud of. It is bright, accessible and transparent—reflective of the values of the Municipality of the County of Kings.

» Execution

Opportunity to provide details on the execution of the project and specific involvement of team members. 

Stantec was the prime consultant and provided architecture, mechanical, electrical, structural, and civil design, sustainability and energy modelling services. The firm was involved from start to finish beginning with public engagement sessions through to construction documents, tendering support and contract administration during construction.

A key focus for the design team was to balance functional requirements, public input, and building efficiency and security within budget. The bright, double-height lobby opens to natural landscaping and a plaza with sunken planters, allowing the space to be filled with works of nature, history and art. All public and staff areas are barrier-free, with gender neutral washrooms, and high contrast finishes for visually impaired persons, creating an accessible and functional space for council members, staff and the community. 

This building is a single-story steel superstructure with a range in spans.  To the west of the main public entrance, a higher roof was designed to provided enhanced ceilings in the conference space, while also accommodating the mechanical mezzanine. The steel structure sits on concrete foundations with a perimeter frost wall and embedded insulation, to help prevent thermal bridging.

The existing stand of deciduous trees at the south of the site were preserved providing natural shade in the summer while letting sunlight pass though in the winter. All rainwater runoff is directed to the 5 settlement ponds spread across the site, which use plants to absorb and filter water runoff on site.

A timber frame with traditional joinery forms a pergola over the entrance which creates a sheltered barrier-free path. During the summer months, the pergola is interwoven with planters that feature natural and agricultural plantings from Kings County. 

» Project Highlights

Stantec’s strategic sustainable design for the complex uses 31% less energy, surpassing the original goal of 15% less energy for buildings of a similar size and use. This was achieved by including features such as ground source heat pumps, high performance glazing which reduces the amount of energy required to heat and cool the building, an enhanced building envelope and a highly efficient heat recovery system. The design also incorporated LED lighting and occupancy sensors to reduce electricity consumption. The building’s orientation maximizes exposure to the south, while fewer windows and more insulation on the north, east and west walls reduce overall energy consumption.