December 5, 2009

Port to Stern

Irving Oil's proposed new headquarters is no small endeavour. Designed by world-leading architect Robert A.M. Stern, if completed it could be the most significant building constructed in our region in more than a century.

John Leroux

And it was. Just look at any turn-of-the-century photograph to see the vigorous and hectic scene at the mouth of the St. John River as tall ships, belching factories, busy railways, wooden wharves and congested housing clamoured for position in one of the most bustling environments in Canada.

But like all good things, this would slowly break down as other cities grew more prosperous, factories closed up and the federally funded St. Lawrence Seaway took the legs out from under the seafaring metropolis of New Brunswick.

These events notwithstanding, one can still marvel at the civic qualities of Saint John. Its topography is brawny and bold, its architecture is unmatched in the province and its coastal position is still magnificent; although the drawback to Saint John's wonders is that the holes in its armour become all the more glaring.

For years the massive sea of asphalt known as Long Wharf and Portland Point was a little-used harbour compound the size of five football fields at the edge of Market Slip and Main Street.

Almost always vacant of late, save for a periodic pile of industrial salt or the odd tent, it made for a poor gateway to uptown Saint John from the Harbour Bridge. To many it became a symbol of a vital downtown landscape that had simply outlived its usefulness.
Still, what used to be the darkest hour is often right before the dawn. In Long Wharf's case, its approaching dawn may very well provide one of the brightest architectural sunrises in Saint John's (and New Brunswick's) history.

Based in New York City, Robert A.M. Stern is one of the most highly respected and honoured architects in the world. He is dean of the Yale University School of Architecture and the author of some of the finest structures built in recent memory.

Recently he was hired by Irving Oil to develop a master plan and new corporate headquarters on the Long Wharf site for Fort Reliance, the parent company of Irving Oil and the various Irving energy holdings. Ocean Capital Investments, the parent company of Commercial Properties, is also a managing partner in the development.

To call this a big deal is an understatement. While a transformative project of this scale and vision hasn't been attempted in Saint John for more than 30 years, the opportunity in all of its dimensions is unprecedented.

While we have come close, New Brunswick has never had a building built under the command of such a distinguished architect. We may genuinely be witnessing the most significant building constructed in our region in more than a century.

Stern's architectural firm, Robert A.M. Stern Architects, is a 220-person practice of architects, interior designers and supporting staff. Over its 40-year history, the award-winning company has established an international reputation as a leading design firm with wide experience in residential, commercial and institutional work.

While he has been tightly identified with the postmodern and neo-traditionalist movements over the past 30 years, Stern prefers the moniker of "modern traditionalist" to describe his work. If you examine the full breadth of his legacy, it ranges from edgy and flowing contemporary designs, to buildings so devoutly classical that they wouldn't be out of place in Athens of two millennia ago.

As the firm's practice has diversified, its geographical scope has widened to include projects in the United States and Canada, as well as Europe, Asia and South America.

In a world that is increasingly looking for the quick and cheap from developers seeking profits over substance, Stern's firm maintains an attention to detail and design that is remarkable in its rigour, holistic quality and humanity.

Stern developed a strong relationship with the Irving family during the design and construction of its generous bequest to Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S.: the K.C. Irving Environmental Science Centre and Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens, which opened in 2002. The building combined facilities for scientific research and instruction with stunning public gathering spaces.

Deferring to the masonry and restrained Georgian classicism of Acadia's older buildings, the centre makes one's jaw drop with an elegance and material quality that is rarely seen in eastern Canada.

With cladding of red brick, granite and limestone, along with a slate roof, traditional mullioned windows and a dramatic glazed greenhouse within a walled botanical garden, the Irving Centre established a new level of architectural attention in Nova Scotia. Luckily, New Brunswick was soon to benefit as well.

Stern recalled that "Arthur and Kenneth approached us as they were thinking of building a new building in Saint John. Kenneth especially wanted to make the building as sophisticated with respect to energy conservation as possible. So we set about first touring some buildings that were seen as models at that time of energy conservation in the sense both of what was done technically and also artistically "¦ So to bring this father and son together, you got the generation planning for the future - it was interesting."

With the support and company of Arthur and Kenneth Irving, Robert Stern and key members of his design team travelled to Nottingham, England, and Rotterdam, Holland. They were able to see a number of buildings that were precedents for fusing architectural appeal and green, sustainable technologies.

While impressed with the University of Nottingham's Jubilee Campus, they were most impressed with the Dutch visit, where they toured a research centre for environmental studies. It contained laboratories, along with the requisite space for scientists and administrators. The group was most impressed by its rhythmic interplay of office space and atrium space - an approach that would directly inspire the design of the future Long Wharf project.

Stern is not only technically adventuresome, but a master craftsman as well, revelling in the tactile interplay of materials, light and space.

His affection for tradition has a strong ally in the Irvings, who were noticeably impressed with the historical integrity and ornate details of many of the streetscapes of Nottingham; features that were not unlike Saint John.

Stern felt that "Nottingham is an interesting city. It has lots of nice brick buildings from the 19th century when it was a more prosperous place "¦ We were looking at the brick buildings and all the intricate patterns. Arthur loves brick and was saying 'Can't we do this?' and 'Can't we do that?' And I said of course we could do it to some extent. So those were our sources and that was like our research."

The team returned from the trip with a number of percolating ideas during the planning phase. Two were firmly at the top of the list: creating a sophisticated, energy-efficient showcase that embraced the most up-to-date technologies and housing its employees in a well-detailed building with a rich brick skin.

The new Long Wharf project would tip its hat to its Victorian Saint John neighbours as a kindred spirit in many ways, but it would also aim higher than any other building ever has in New Brunswick with regards to fusing sustainable practices with a stunning working environment and architectural envelope.

"We came back with a commitment to use brick extensively," Stern says.

"Also, the atrium idea separated the offices so that people not only have a high level of daylight in all their work spaces, but it's a chance to step out of their typical work area into this atrium where they can meet more informally ... This atmosphere would be different, there would be greenery around you, when you looked up you would see sky, you can also look straight ahead; you would have an incredible view of the harbour.

"What we have in this site, which the buildings we went to see in Europe don't have, is this amazing natural feature: the harbour. And of course, in the summer, when the big cruise ships come in, you have the drama."

"So we had the site, the idea of the atrium and the idea of a highly sustainable solution, and then we had the site itself with the possibilities of reshaping it, to develop the harbour, to accommodate the port. We wanted to tie the site back to the heart of Saint John and the business district, so it's not seen as a sort of suburbanization of Saint John but an extension of the town."

The 220,000-square-foot building, planned as a four-storey volume facing the harbour at a 45-degree southeastern orientation, is expected to be completed by mid-2012.

The focal point and entry hub is a generous curved lobby and winter garden walled in glass that overlooks uptown and divides the building in two differently sized sections.

The larger one, facing the bay, has its mass broken into a series of three thin brick sections with a lattice of rectangular window openings, separated by fully glazed skylit atriums.

The smaller northeastern wing is akin to one of the other brick sections in scale and exterior treatment. The floor layout is geared toward efficiency of space, but one that is tied tightly to thermal comfort, natural light, generous ceilings and stunning views.

Further to this end, placed above the entrance lobby roof, is a large executive conference room/penthouse and terrace featuring roof planting and energy-absorbing technologies.

While the upper floors will be mainly office space for Fort Reliance companies, the ground floor level is intended to include retail uses and a significant open-plan space that will be devoted to a secondary cruise ship terminal.

Conscientiously choosing time-honoured and low-maintenance materials, Stern will be using many products from the region for the structure, such as the stone, brick and wood. The most prevalent cladding material will be light buff brick, which he felt is nicer and more appropriate for the climate since it's lighter and actually bounces light, while red brick wants to absorb light. Another reason for its selection was the long-established association with the Golden Ball building and current Irving Oil Headquarters tower.

The brick sections are carefully designed so that no one working inside is more than several dozen feet away from natural light and outside views.

The atriums will almost certainly become the most cherished interior spaces in the city with their lofty spatial qualities, exterior water views and sculptural suspended staircases. The atriums will encourage conversation and relaxed dialogue through floor seating around tables, as well as conference rooms and other meeting areas that project onto the upper floors. Bridges will allow the users to criss-cross at different floors to maximize interaction.

The skylights have been carefully calibrated with their angles and basic configuration to maximize light and to maintain balance so it will not get too bright or hot on a sunny day.

The architects get excited when talking about the opportunities for the employees and visitors to step out of the office wings and into the pleasant atrium micro-climate during all four seasons.

Another special feature of the building is the creation of a central auditorium connected to the entry lobby.

The Irvings and their design team wanted this to be more than just another office building, so an auditorium was key.

Stern felt that "auditoriums are very important for corporations these days because of the fact that everybody is operating globally and you have distance communication between companies ... The auditorium could also be a tremendous asset for the people of Saint John in general, so we wanted to place it in a position where it could be open to the public at certain hours, weekends and evenings.

"We worked it in our design so that the auditorium is here at the 'knuckle' between what is the basic core of the office building, or on the ground floor of the facilities for the port. And here there would be some retail and a lobby"¦ So the building has a real public face to Saint John and we think that the Irvings and Fort Reliance really want to make a good public gesture out of this."

As for the public gesture, one of the driving principles of the Long Wharf project was embracing the idea of how to create a building that makes welcoming and inspiring public space.

While Stern cared deeply about the architectural aspects of the building itself and the needs of the internal users, the overlooked water's edge demanded a considerable and elegant resolution. In his words, "the waterfront will suddenly become not just an abandoned area except for a few weeks in the summer, but a place that people will feel is like the front lawn of the city. It is the window of the city on the world; it's why the city exists."

The plan for public access within and around the building includes major landscaping and site grading, with walkways connecting to Harbour Passage, green space, park bench areas and a decoratively paved plaza at the water's edge for the benefit of docking cruise ships and large festivals or other large gatherings.

Stern rightfully feels that "Saint John is lacking a fabulous place by the water in those two or three months when it is really nice for people to gather with their kids, go to cafés, et cetera". They should not have to go off to some enclosed mall somewhere to have a sophisticated Saturday afternoon, or even a typical lunchtime."

Further phases of the site development include a tentative Phase Two that would see the addition of a more formal entrance area and a pedestrian bridge being built on axis with Union Street. A potential Phase Three could include some type of community-consulted commemoration of Fort La Tour and opportunities for the development on Long Wharf Slip.

In order to truly benefit the community, Robert A.M. Stern Architects has worked closely from the very first stages with two environmental planning and design firms who are world leaders in the field.

The Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and Atelier Ten based in the U.K. and the U.S. are the vision leaders for the environmental sustainability and energy use practices at Long Wharf, executing much of the design-based analysis and technical specifics of the project.

As Stern asserts, "we have on this project two of the top thinkers and doers in sustainable design, and we are working toward a high LEED certification." Assisting Stern with the project as well is TOSS Architecture Inc., the local associate architect based in Saint John.

The team pursued what is known as "integrated design," where the optimum building is achieved through smart architectural, mechanical and systems planning at the beginning stages of conceptual design, rather than at the end, which is typically the case. While the initial building may cost slightly more, it immediately begins to pay for itself.

Amory Lovins, the cofounder, chairman and chief scientist of RMI, noted that by simply creating a better thermal envelope and thereby creating a more comfortable interior environment, you get a six- to 16-per-cent level of increased work output from employees.

The noble goal is to design as high performing and carbon-neutral a building as possible, while creating a supportive environment for walking and biking, reducing car travel to and from work.

Technically, the Long Wharf building has downsized systems through discipline and forward planning. It will avoid the need for daily use humidifiers by instead using a passive, natural system with a supplementary failsafe system in case of emergencies; it makes provisions for future rooftop solar water heating units; it will use a seawater piping loop within the adjacent harbour for most of its heating and cooling needs; and the windows will have an R-8 insulating coefficient, which is vastly more efficient than the typical R-4 units on the market.

Breen Mahony, an associate at Robert A.M. Stern Architects and the project architect, expects that about 15 per cent of the building's energy will be generated on-site. Some of the more visible elements include proposed small wind turbines facing the water.

Festive in their curved form, they would become a palpable instance of sustainable practices for the public walking by.

With a goal of using sustainability in an interesting way, the team is also proposing other future opportunities such as a "living machine" at the southern tip of the site.

A large room with all kinds of high-tech filtering equipment, it will be a habitat to purify waste by passing it through attractive plant zones. Essentially a large, naturally lit, hydroponic arc, it will be buried in the earth with a green roof and a southern-facing glass wall to support the internal processes of breaking down the effluent.

Visibly located on axis with King Street and Market Slip, it will encourage passersby to not only look in, but to go in as well. Stern is hopeful that schoolchildren or tourists will visit and have an educational and environmental epiphany.

"There are not many buildings like this anywhere," Stern says.

"I think it's amazing that this building will be built in Saint John, but it would be equally amazing if it was built in White Plains, New York, or a lot of other places. This is a state-of-the-art building. Everything to the best of our consultants' and our knowledge that can be done to make this building a high-performance building and an attractive environment at the same time has been done."

When asked what he hoped Saint Johners will take from this project in the future, his vision is that Long Wharf will have a city-wide ripple effect.

"I want them to say that, by the nature of this building and the commitment of Irving/Fort Reliance to be here, we're not 'stuck' in Saint John, we are living in Saint John! Other things will come up to pass, people will want different kinds of housing and offices, institutions will develop and change, inadequate housing will be improved to new and better buildings, and hopefully they'll build them in a good, solid, straightforward way."

"The problem with most capital investments by developers is that they tend to have a short-range view of the future; they want to get their money out quickly. But in the case of Fort Reliance, their building is their own long-term commitment. They're building with the true idea of a long-term payout.

"We're thrilled to be supported by our clients in pursuing what we hope will be architecturally excellent. I think that everyone believes that by investing in the city in this way it will encourage other people to say, 'This is a place to stay.'"

Architecturally, the dawn is breaking in the port of Saint John with the Long Wharf development, and the sun is slated to rise very high indeed.