Accedi
Utenti registrati
Operations Control Centre 2 is a state-of-the-art, high-security transit control facility located in Burnaby, Canada, that synthesizes complex technical and site planning constraints in a strikingly simple and coherent architectural gesture. The building’s distinct form responds to unique setback requirements that resulted in a small and oddly shaped buildable zone, and strict layout requirements for the control room itself, with long, curved display walls on two sides. These twin constraints led the team to propose the four-storey elliptical structure that cradles the control room at its centre.
Votazioni chiuse
The site is between a suburban residential area and a busy commuter thoroughfare, with a large transit operations and maintenance campus nearby. Security requirements include large setbacks from the fenced perimeter, giving the building an inward-facing character. Its height, materiality, and distinct form make it a striking yet mysterious presence. Stainless-steel cladding reacts to surroundings—glowing like copper at sunrise, deepening to gunmetal under cloud cover, and radiating a subtle shimmer on clear days. At the same time, its precise, machine-like design suggests professionalism, discipline, and focus, mirroring the control center operators' work.
The building features a high-performance envelope with triple-glazed windows and stainless-steel sunshades, allowing daylight into the control room. Energy-efficient LED lighting is used throughout with outdoor air units and high-efficiency heat recovery. VRF units manage heating and cooling in non-critical areas, while a pumped refrigerant economizer ensures climate control in critical rooms. The building is next to the SkyTrain and BC Parkway cycling-walking path, and offers staff a convenient commute, with bike storage, a mechanic stand and access to showers in its end-of-trip facilities. The project received a 2023 Architecture MasterPrize Honourable Mention.
The building’s distinct form responds to unique setback requirements that resulted in a small and oddly shaped buildable zone, as well as strict layout requirements for the control room itself, with long, curved display walls on two sides. As a result, the 5,400 sq.m. program is arranged on four storeys and the building takes the form of an ellipse in plan, with the control room at its centre.
The new double-height control room will be occupied twenty-four hours a day by operators who monitor the functionality, safety, and security of the automated train network that serves Vancouver and the surrounding region. A large ground floor data centre supports the control room directly above. All mechanical and electrical systems are designed with fully redundant backup systems.
Perimeter corridors enhance the security of the data centre and control room by providing a buffer between these sensitive operational spaces and the building envelope. The glazed mezzanine acts as a clerestory, filtering daylight into the control room from the north and south.
The facility is clad in brushed stainless-steel panels, generating soft and richly-coloured reflections on its faceted surface. At the entrance, the building skin flares outward to form a generous triple-height lobby and dynamic entry sequence that reinforces the building’s architectural clarity and cohesive form.
Client comments are not available as the building is still under construction.
RDHA is a Toronto-based studio specializing in intelligent, concept driven architecture of the highest caliber for the public realm. Originally founded in 1919, the firm has a wide-ranging body of work, encompassing libraries and cultural buildings, community and recreation facilities, operations centres, transit facilities, post-secondary education facilities, secure buildings, corporate and institutional office buildings, and additions and renovations to heritage structures. The firm feels and acts like an emerging design studio, while our 100-year legacy provides a solid backbone of technical and managerial experience. Consequently, we have re-emerged as one of Canada's most acclaimed design firms, winning more than 100 major provincial, national and international awards.
