Project Owner: Gulf Islands Seniors Residence Association (GISRA)
Location: Salt Spring Island BC
Completion Date: Summer of 2021
Cost: Withheld
Size: 50 Units
Project Architect: WC+S
Design Lead: Patrick Wheeler, Callum Crawford

Affordable seniors housing is much needed on Salt Spring and other Gulf Islands. Providing 48 independent living units plus two staff suites and an existing clinic on site, Meadowlane promises to help fill this need, and serve as a community hub. Also contained within the main building is an area designated 'Service Club' currently earmarked for the Salt Spring Seniors Services Society. The communal functions, commercial kitchen, amenities areas, service club and administration areas are located on the main floor, with residential units located on floors above. The building is designed as a 3 storey wood frame structure over partial basement which contains commercial laundry and service areas. The exterior is designed in a 'West Coast Modern' vernacular informed by contemporary Gulf Island architecture.

Project Owner: Trellis Seniors Services
Location: Richmond BC
Completion Date: Under Construction
Cost: Withheld
Size: 135 Beds
Project Architect: DCA
Design Lead: Patrick Wheeler, Callum Crawford(WC+S)

The design of Hamilton Village is informed by a philosophy of care that promotes establishing homelike environments and a neighbourly feel to living spaces. The clinical planning of the building responds with a configuration based around 15 bed houses that can function independently, or be joined together to form larger neighbourhoods. This flexibility allows for both intimate spaces at a residential scale and larger areas for group activities and social functions. The neighbourhood / house configuration minimizes travel distances and maximizes the efficient use of shared staff resources. With its contemporary exterior expression, large landscaped courtyards and an environmentally protected area for local wildlife, Hamilton Village is designed to respect both the natural and the built environment of the community. The contract for Hamilton Village was awarded through an RFP process initiated by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.

Landscape design by:  Van der Zalm + Associates.

Project Owner: Trellis Senoirs Services
Location: North Vancouver BC
Completion Date: Under Construction
Cost: Withheld
Size: 180 Beds
Design Architect: DCA
Design Lead: Pat Wheeler, Callum Crawford
Project Architect: Keystone Architecture

A growing number of Vancouver seniors have needs that are too complex for home care, but not acute enough for sustained hospital treatment. The Creekstone Care Centre will help bridge this gap by providing housing for 180 seniors living with moderate to advanced dementia and/or complex physical conditions. Working in partnership with the Ministry of Health, the Creekstone Care Centre will provide 24-hour monitoring and support, as well as the safety and security needed for seniors with advanced dementia and challenging behaviours. Bright rooms and wide corridors, along with views over nearby green spaces and the mountains and ocean beyond, will create a welcoming environment. Community integration was a key consideration in the site selection and building design. Located next to a planned green corridor in the Lower Lynn Valley and convenient to transit, the new facility will allow seniors to stay close to their families and connected to their community.

Landscape Design: Van der Zalm + Associates

Project Owner: Buron Health Care
Location: Kamloops BC
Completion Date: July 2013
Cost: $14,000,000
Project Architect: DCA
Design Team: Derek Crawford, Callum Crawford

Brocklehurst Gemstone Care Centre is a 130-bed residential care facility designed to the latest standards of elder care, combining efficient space planning with the essential components of residential design. Using wood and stone as the dominant exterior materials, Brocklehurst Gemstone has a distinct 'arts and crafts' residential style. This look continues inside with homelike spaces, materials and textures. Bringing in natural light and views of the spectacular riverfront setting were major design considerations. Exterior courtyards make the most of the natural setting and offer a secure outdoor area for passive recreation, walking loops, and shade structures. The design team, led by Derek Crawford, Architect (DCA), included senior staff from Buron Healthcare, as well as representatives from the Interior Health Authority, the Kamloops Planning Authority, and local community associations.

Location: Salt Spring Island BC

Completion Date: November 2017

Cost: $600,000

Design Team: WC+ S

This west coast modern rancher orients to the morning sun and tilts a simple shed roof toward the southern sun path. Skylights provide winter light and large overhangs offer summer shade. A glulam rafter system drops to end gables to create covered outdoor spaces, seamlessly integrating the inside and outside with a simple lift and slide glazing system. Other key design features include a hydronic slab and heat recovery system, an inverted hot roof with exterior insulation, interior climbing walls, and an exterior courtyard which doubles as a sports field.

Location: Vancouver BC

Completion Date: October 2011

Cost: Withheld 

Design Team: WC+S (Succeeding DCA)

This Vancouver family home uses extensive sub-systems to yield a net zero energy rating and off grid capabilities. The homeowners requested a modern house with a traditional layout; WC+S facilitated this with clear cedar siding, a flat roof, and expansive glazing systems. The landscaping uses architectural concrete and water features to connect the adjacent two car garage; wraparound decks complete the outdoor experience. The house, which blends well with its urban setting, also features hydronic slabs, a heat recovery ventilation system, a large solar array, smart electronics and entry systems, underground fuel and water storage, and a strengthened wood frame envelope.

Location: Vernon BC

Completion Date: December 2014

Cost: $1,000,000

Design Team: WC+S 

Set on a dramatic rock outcropping overlooking Kalamalka Lake, this contemporary home features multi-level south-facing decks leading to viewing platforms. A curved glulam roof, anchored by a large central fireplace, provides warmth to the interior common spaces. Flat-roofed bedrooms alongside complete the separation of common and private spaces, allowing family interaction in the central living areas. Vernon House features quadlock insulated floors, a magnesiocore building envelope, and concrete construction.

Location: Burnaby BC

Completion Date: 2020 (Building Permit Stage)

Cost: $40,000,000

Design Team: WC+S (Succeeding DCA)

The increasing demand for affordable seniors' housing, coupled with rising real estate costs, threatens to push care facilities further from city centers, isolating seniors at a time when connection is most needed. New Vista, a seven-story, 240-bed facility, offers a vertical solution in an urban setting, allowing residents to stay in the city they call home, near friends and family. The ground level will house administrative offices and a central area known as Main Street Commons. The bedroom floors will be organized into a series of 24-bed units surrounding a core of common areas, including dining rooms, lounges, activity spaces, and care stations. New Vista will also features space for an adult day program for 30 local seniors, as well as a spa, a hair salon, physical therapy rooms, laundry facilities, and a large commercial kitchen. Planned using evidence-based design, the new facility will replace the existing New Vista Society Campus of Care.

Location: Summerland BC

Completion Date: In Planning

Cost: Withheld 

Design Team: WC+S (Succeeding DCA) - Design Architect with de Hoog & Kierulf - Project Architect

iCASA is a proposed resort-style campus of care, providing a wide range of aging in place options for seniors in Summerland, BC. This state-of-the-art 404-unit community will offer a mix of market housing, independent living, assisted living, and complex care to accommodate seniors with varying levels of care needs. A resort's worth of amenities will include a wellness centre, swimming pool, fitness room, hot tub, steam room and sauna, as well as a clubhouse with panoramic views of nearby vineyards and Okanagan Lake. Residents and their guests will also be able to enjoy an on-site fine dining restaurant, a licensed café and bistro, a children’s daycare for visiting family, pickle ball courts, a billiards hall, a memory care courtyard and garden, a communal kitchen where residents can cook and eat together, and garden plots where residents can grow their own vegetables. Developed by Saint Elizabeth Health Care and the Lark Group.

Location: Surrey BC

Completion Date: Under Construction

Cost: Withheld 

Design Team: WC+S (Succeeding DCA)

The Peace Arch Hospital Foundation project is a 200-bed residential care facility in Surrey, BC. Licensed under the Community Care and Assisted Living Act by the Fraser Health Authority, Peace Arch addresses the needs of seniors with physical challenges, mental health and substance use issues, as well as palliative care, under one roof. The principle design challenge was accommodating such an extensive program on a small urban site, while still providing outdoor space for residents. The solution was to create neighborhoods of 28 residents each, configured in an X-shape. This allows for secure landscaped courtyards on the north and west sides of the site, a drop-off and entry area on the south, and loading and parking access to the east. The design also makes efficient use of the land while maximizing light and views for the residents and staff. The facility's location, in an urban residential neighborhood, will allow residents to stay close to their families and integrated in the community.

Location: Vancouver BC

Completion Date: Sept 2014

Cost: $35,000 

Design Team: WC+S 

Ingenuity is often born of necessity. With a small budget and a floor area of just 700 square feet, cost effectiveness and maximization of usable space were priorities in this downtown Vancouver loft renovation. Using economical materials and simplified design, WC+S opted to open the floor plan while keeping as much of the existing structure as possible. Combining the kitchen and dining areas created a generous cooking area, ample storage, and seating for six; custom kitchen cabinets made of raw Baltic birch plywood and fully integrated appliances (sourced from local clearance centres) completed the look. The existing stairs were stripped down to structure, resurfaced with soft pine finished in resilient white epoxy, and enhanced with minimal handrail detailing. In the upstairs bedroom, an inefficient walk-in closet was replaced with large sliding panels, doubling the storage capacity within the same footprint. The existing concrete slab was exposed and ground to a polish. In the living room, low-cost IKEA shelving was modified to suit an existing alcove, achieving the look of custom built-in millwork at a fraction of the price. The results demonstrate that good design need not be costly. 

Location: Surrey BC

Completion Date: 2012

Cost: $13,000,000

Design Team: WC+S (Succeeding DCA)

Clayton Heights is home to 94 complex care residents, 29 mental health residents, and 15 acquired brain injury younger adults. The client's priorities were to create a warm, inviting and home-like space, suitable for residents with different needs; they also required a design which aligned well with the facility's patient-centred clinical model. The integration of design and operations was especially important in maximizing staff efficiency, giving staff the flexibility they need to adapt to residents’ changing needs, and enabling staff to spend as much time as possible with each resident. Located in a rapidly expanding residential community, Clayton Heights was designed to complement the neighbouring townhouses. WC+S worked closely with the operations team as well as Fraser Health and the local community association throughout the process.

Location: Lumby BC

Completion Date: April 2013

Cost: Withheld 

Design Team: WC+S (Succeeding DCA)

Monashee Mews is a 46-bed residential care facility licensed under the Community Care and Assisted Living Act by Interior Health. The facility is home to a mix of cognitively-well residents, some with physical limitations, and cognitively impaired, socially appropriate or socially inappropriate, residents. Thirty-six beds are designated for people requiring access to 24-hour care, while 10 beds are designated for Acquired Brain Injury residents. The major objective of Monashee Mews' care model and related physical design is to create as home-like an environment as possible in a care setting. To accomplish this, the building is organized around an internal “street” which runs from the main entrance to the elevator core in the centre of the complex. This street provides access to a multi-purpose area next to the main entrance for the convenience of outside users, such as community groups, as well as a general store for residents and space for occupational and physical therapy. Administrative and support spaces are de-emphasized, helping to create a more home-like environment.