Halifax, N.S.

This $32.4-million, design-build project for the Department of National Defense, was constructed to house the Navy's new Officers’ and Chiefs and Petty Officers’ Mess Facilities at CFB Halifax. This 190,000 square foot project includes a new Chiefs and Petty Officers’ (C&PO’S) Mess, a common galley kitchen, a 12-storey, 158-room residential tower and interior renovations to the existing Officers' Wardroom.

BMR is a member of the Canada Green Building Council, a voluntary coalition committed to leading the environmental movement in the building industry. All team members in this project applied environmental strategies to meet DND’s recycled content requirements.

Selecting recyclable building materials for construction today will divert materials from landfills in the future. Demolition and new construction waste was salvaged and recycled. BMR’s Green Building approach to construction played a part in this successful green endeavour.

The 12-storey accommodation tower was constructed using a cast-in-place concrete, two-way structural slab system. This system minimizes the floor-to-floor height of the building and provides a high-quality fire rated sound insulated floor system. The elevator shafts constructed from cast in-place concrete act as shear walls for the 12 storey building and transfer lateral forces due to wind and earthquakes down to the foundation.

The three-storey annex, connecting the existing building to the new 12-storey accommodations tower houses the galley, dining room and ballrooms. An economical structural steel frame was chosen for this common area to accommodate the long span, column-free spaces required.