A new field house in the City of Delta will have a much different look than other city buildings.
The city has issued a request for proposals for the construction of a two-storey field house building to support the new track and field facility at North Delta Secondary.
“Unique in its end design, the building comprises a series of modified shipping containers, along with a small structural steel framework, all resting on a concrete foundation. A shipping container contractor has been engaged to complete structural modifications to the shipping containers, as well as delivering and positioning these same containers onto the building’s concrete foundation,” the city notes in its tender for bids.
The successful bidder is to develop the building’s concrete foundation, erect the structural steel framework, coordinate with the shipping container contractor while delivering and placing the containers on site, as well as complete all remaining aspects and elements of the building interior and exterior.
The city also notes that, recognizing the importance of the structural elements for the building as a whole, Delta will engage and assume the cost for third-party structural welding inspection services to validate that project requirements have been completed in accordance with the detailed design.
The two-storey, 3,200-square-foot field house is to be fully compliant with current building code requirements, free of obstacles and barriers to persons with mobility challenges and meet the anticipated needs of end users.
Council in 2021 had approved a contract for architectural design services for the shipping container field house.
The city the year prior awarded a contract for the same consultant to come up with a design for a standalone field house building with a size in the range of 2,000-to-2,500 square feet, but shortly thereafter the city revised its vision for the building.
The new vision favoured an emphasis on the use of alternative building design and construction, namely the re-purposing of shipping containers as the primary structural element, along with an expanded building footprint to better accommodate anticipated user needs.
The new facility will have public washrooms, change rooms, a space for strength and conditioning, equipment storage, a meeting room and viewing deck.
Completed in 2021, the new track facility includes an eight-lane, 400 metre rubberized track surface with lighting, seating, a natural turf infield as well as other features.
The project had a total price tag of about $8 million, not including the field house.
The city subsequently managed to secure a $5.87 million Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program Community Culture and Recreation Program grant, a combined federal and provincial funding program, for the new track.
