River District Community Centre

Situated along the Fraser River, the River District Community Centre is part of Wesgroup’s River District masterplan together with the City of Vancouver to create a complete community.

Thoughtfully designed by hcma in collaboration with space2place to enhance the well-being of both residents and the broader neighbourhood, this community-centric space encapsulates a City of Vancouver-owned community centre with childcare facilities and a fitness centre. Separate structures will capture retail space, a restaurant and café, and are accompanied by outdoor public plaza, as well as new walking and biking paths along the riverfront.

The community centre will incorporate a hybrid approach with two primary framing systems – a conventional mass timber post-beam-panel system is utilized over the entrance lobby and for the childcare facilities, with the remaining programming utilizing steel frames with composite concrete metal deck floors. The underground parkade will be constructed using concrete, with a grade level suspended concrete acting as a transfer slab to the superstructure above.

Sustainability is key component to the design of this project, as it targets Passive House certification, LEED Gold certification, and a 40% reduction in embodied carbon. This new community centre will be a key milestone in realizing Wesgroup’s River District masterplan vision.