The City of Surrey has won an award of excellence for the Clayton Community Centre.
The B.C. Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA) recently recognized the City of Surrey, five other communities, and one individual with their Provincial Awards of Excellence.
Surrey was awarded the “Facility Excellence Award.”
In May 5 press release, the BCRPA said the awards recognize “outstanding special events, programs, facilities, and parks which reflect ideas, innovation, and services that have made an impact in the recreation and parks sector.”
“These award recipients each illustrate tremendous innovation, creativity, and a standard of excellence to aspire to,” Rebecca Tunnacliffe, BCRPA CEO, said in the release. “Each project has had an enormous positive impact on its community members and serves as a gold-standard for the entire recreation and parks sector.”
Tunnacliffe commended each award recipient for their “dedication to accessibility and inclusion” and lauded the “community connectedness, energy efficiency, and a focus on enhancing the quality of life” for the people living in the award-winning communities.
“The Clayton community has the highest number of children and youth in Surrey,” the released noted. “The Clayton Community Centre is designed to provide them a safe, accessible gathering space to connect with each other, their families, and the culturally vibrant Clayton community.”
BCRPA also recognized the new building (which used the Passive House construction design) for the accessibility and the inclusivity of its design elements.
SEE ALSO: City of Surrey officially opens Clayton Community Centre
“The new centre provides a hearing loop in its performing arts studio, wheelchair accessible fitness equipment, and universal washrooms and change rooms.”
The BCRPA awards focus on recreation as an “essential social service” that helps create healthy citizens, healthy cities, and healthy environments. The 2022 awards worked off the theme “innovation in the recreation and parks sector.”
“The (BCRPA) supports communities in their efforts to enhance quality of life through leadership and advocacy in physical activity and healthy living initiatives, grants and professional development,” the released said.
The awards were handed out at BCRPA’s annual conference.
Other winners included: the City of Abbotsford for Grant Park; the City of Victoria for their “Get Growing Victoria” program; the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation for the “All Bodies Community (ABC)” program; the City of New Westminster for the “Shine Bright New West” event; Oliver Parks and Recreation Society for the 100X100 Festival; and Alan Sakai of Richmond, who won the community leadership award.
PASSIVE HOUSE
The Clayton facility was built as a Passive House. Originating in Germany, Passive House is a unique way to construct a building that uses “super insulation” combined with a complex ventilation system to drastically reduce a building’s energy consumption.
Fresh air is continuously sucked into a building and stale air is continuously forced out. While the stale air is being forced out, it is used to heat the incoming air, which minimizes heat loss.
According to Passive House Canada, the low-energy buildings “consume up to 90 per cent less heating and cooling energy than conventional buildings.” This design includes being able to build houses without furnaces in cold climates.
The building was projected to cost $43.5 million — with Natural Resources Canada kicking in $1.3 million, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund gifting $175,000, and BC Hydro donating $30,000.
The first Passive House in Canada was constructed in Whistler for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Lost Lake PassivHaus was built to showcase the unique construction methods to the building community.
The Clayton Community Centre is located at 7155 187A Street.
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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