Firm Perkins+Will has been awarded the SUB project
By Alison Roach
Photos by Samantha Derochie
The Build SFU student union building project marked another milestone last week as it announced the selection of an architect firm for the project. Vancouver-based, 75-person strong firm Perkins+Will has been awarded the project, and will start site evaluations this summer.
The announcement was officially made in the SFSS Forum meeting last Wednesday by Build SFU general manager Marc Fontaine. “We’re really excited about this announcement,” said Fontaine. “I personally think that Perkins+Will is the best firm with the most experience and . . . students told us that Perkins+Will is the firm that could best represent students, understand best what students need in the building, and actually I feel it was an easy decision.
Perkins+Will was the first of three firms to present to students on Jan. 30, competing against HCMA/Endall Elliot and Dialog for the bid. After the presentations, students, faculty, and community members were invited by the Build SFU team to fill out an online survey with their reactions.
The Build SFU project team gathered 47 responses to the architect presentations that were compiled and presented to the building committee. There were 38 responses from undergraduate students, several from SFU staff and faculty, one from an alumnus, and a letter written by Lorne Davies, expressing his personal support for Perkins+Will.
“The important thing that we focused on was not receiving feedback that wasn’t useful,” said Fontaine. “We wanted to receive feedback that is qualitative and that was informed and really thought out. And we did receive that.”
From this, Perkins+Will was selected. The international firm’s Vancouver office has worked previously on UBC’s Earth Science buildings and SFU’s own Saywell and Blusson halls. One of their team members has personally worked on over 40 student union buildings.
Current SFSS University Relations Officer and Build SFU founder Jeff McCann stated, “The Perkins+Will team excelled throughout all aspects of the architect selection process. Students told us that this firm best understood the goals and aspiration of the Build SFU project. We look forward to this partnership and are confident that Perkins+Will is the best team to help us redefine the student experience.”
Perkins+Will team leader Jana Foit visibly beamed in an inter view with The Peak on being awarded the project. “This is such an exciting project,” Foit said. “We’re just ecstatic to start work and to be able to bring something that’s so meaningful to students and to be able to deliver that here. It’s a great opportunity.”
Foit also recognized the challenges that face the student-led project, especially concerning the multitude of voices that will undoubtedly inundate the consultation process.
“There’s a lot of opinions and students will definitely have opinions, but I think it’s exciting because students also have a lot of vision,” said Foit. “They’re not as cynical or dissuaded as someone who’s been doing this for a long time. You’re looking at tomorrow, you guys are looking at innovation, and you’re interested in those things.”
The firm hasn’t defined a firm plan for student consultation, but it is certain that there will be six to eight weeks of intensive consultation at the beginning of the fall semester. Foit mentioned holding workshops with different user group representatives, a goal-setting workshop, and social media feedback as several facets of communication that may be implemented. The idea of even using the platform Instagram to allow students to send photos of how they see their university is also
being considered.
The architect selection has gone through the SFSS board of directors, with a tentative price tag of $326,500 approved for the first phase of work. The full cost of the firm for the project is unknown at this point. In the latest SFU Board of Governor’s meeting on March 14, the Finance and Administration Committee also noted that the process to select the architect for the Build SFU project has ended, and the award of contract was put before the board and approved. Perkins+Will has been approved for the entire SUB project, but as of now has only been hired for phase one, involving site selection and programming of the building.
The official price-tag for the architect for the SFSS is complicated by the fact that the university has agreed to finance additional renovations to the Lorne Davies building if it ends up becoming the site of the project.
In regards to the cost of the architect for the entire project, Fontaine explained: “The architect has been hired, but it includes that cost that the university would pay for, and it’s and up-to amount rather than a defined amount.” He went on to say that Perkins+Will was within the price range expected for the project.
“ We have confidence that the price for Perkins+Will is appropriate, and it’s a price that is not too low to deliver what we need from the project.”
Moving forward, Perkins+Will will spend the summer semester working on site selection studies to identify three possible sites for the building, which are currently unknown. Heavy student consultations will begin in the fall, culminating in a report with a site recommendation and review of the building programming to be put forward in November. The firm will then most likely be rehired to continue the project, and begin working full-time on it in 2014.
Build SFU also plans to hire two new staff members this summer, one working in administration and one dedicated to student consultation.
Fontaine concluded, “I’m thrilled with the architect selection. It is my choice absolutely . . . This firm stood out in terms of meeting [our] objectives, and I think Perkins+Will will have no trouble in determining in consultations with students what can make our building the best that it can be for this university.”
For a more personal look at Perkins+Will check out the interview with Jana Foit:
