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The University of Alberta was further developing its south campus to include a state-of-the-art literature storage facility that was carefully designed to ensure the longevity of the resources kept inside. Situated on highly visible land, public input and aesthetic appeal were important factors in the engineer and architectural design decisions. The building was essentially a large storage warehouse and the need for curb appeal proved to be a constant determining factor in the work that was completed.

Arrow worked closely with the University of Alberta, in conjunction with public input, to complete the civil engineering for this development: The Research and Collections Research Facility (RCRF), which was set in a low-lying site and required a great deal of creative site grading. The Arrow civil team carefully planned its work to allow room in the budget for a structural slab, both to deliver a solid frame to build on and to increase the longevity of the building.

Additionally, the team developed a plan for the storm water management as there were no storm services in the area. Arrow designed drainage ditches that were dressed with landscape features to ensure proper site drainage was directed away from the building but also to look aesthetically pleasing.

The team continuously reinvented its processes to focus on sound designs while taking into consideration the public’s view of the final product.

“The most fulfilling piece of this project was to have our team collaboratively deal with the challenges and not break the bank so that we were able to add extras that would make it possible for people driving by not realize this is essentially a storage warehouse.”