A crucial link for commuters, families and tourists, the Tsawwassen ferry terminal connects British Columbia’s Lower Mainland region with Victoria, Nanaimo and the Southern Gulf Islands. The design for the 100m-long retail building was to provide a warm, inviting gateway to shopping, restaurants and amenities for passengers awaiting the next ferry sailing.
Fast + Epp’s task was to bring the outdoors in. To achieve this, we developed a composite timber and steel roof with the design-builder StructureCraft. It was prefabricated as a kit of parts to speed up erection times on site. The undulating roof was constructed using elliptically-shaped glulam columns capped with varied-height aluminum castings. King post trusses were designed with unique galvanized steel castings, while the building’s floor-to-ceiling glazed curtain walls were topped with a sail-like roof screen.
Visitors to the finished building are struck by its sweeping views of the North Shore mountains and extensive daylighting.
