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Whistler – Making Mountains Out Of Metal

January 8, 2008


The Whistler Blackcomb Peak to Peak Gondola project is an exciting and very challenging project, essentially connecting the two world renowned peaks of Whistler and Blackcomb. It will be the longest unsupported span for a lift of this kind in the world at over 3 kilometres and the highest lift of this kind in the world at 415 metres above Fitzsimmons Creek as well as the longest continuous lift system on the globe at almost 3 and a half times longer than the Golden Gate Bridge. But early in the schedule the project hit a snag, John R. Morley, Vice-President of Development for Intrawest Placemaking explained “When we obtained our preliminary pricing for the terminal enclosures, the conventional steel building design was significantly higher than our budget. Given the high profile nature of the project we really needed these buildings to be iconic in nature… our Architect had come up with a really great concept that the Project Team liked but it became clear that we were not going to be able to deliver the icon we wanted within our budget using a conventional steel building.” Faced with his dilemma John took a moment to contemplate and remembered someone he had worked with early in his career. “I knew from my experience managing mining projects that pre-engineered buildings were often the route to take to achieve significant cost savings. I worked with Jim Peacey in my early days and I knew he’d partnered with David at Colony. I was aware that Colony specialized in more custom pre-engineered buildings which was definitely what we were looking for.”

The contact was made and Jim Peacey and David Thompson of Colony went to visit John and discuss the possibilities. “I could see right from the start that the building would be a design challenge” Jim noted. “The framework was quite complex and something that definitely would present an impossibility to most Building System suppliers. It was extremely important to John and to ourselves that we find a way to come within his budgets while still maintaining the Architectural integrity of the project. David and I came up with a concept that managed to achieve both.” All John had to do now was get everyone else involved in the project on board with the new concept. “I could certainly sense some apprehension on the part of our Architect when I first mentioned pre-engineered” John admits. But the fears of Christopher Rowe, Vice-President of Cannon Design, although well founded from past experience, were quickly dismissed. Christopher confirmed “I think there was an early expectation that we might lose a lot of the interesting architectural qualities of the buildings, but in this case I think it’s been a useful streamlining of the design.” John Morley added “I guess the deciding factor was primarily that Colony was able to deliver the building that everyone wanted within our budget and the added bonus was the opportunity to have them work with us during the design process to fine tune and improve the building.”

With approvals completed, Colony moved from concept towards reality with some added benefits that John and his group had not anticipated. John recalls “Some of the real advantages as we’ve been going through the design, and of course budgeting process, is the quick response we get on our many queries… If we ask…What if we make this change and what is this cost impact going to be? The response time from Colony, working with Behlen, has been very quick, allowing us to make timely decisions. This has been a real advantage.. I think this has been an example of ‘One Stop Shopping’ and the efficiencies of having the design, supply and erection scopes under one supplier.”

As a team, Colony, Intrawest Placemaking and Cannon Design along with the many others involved in the success of the project, are all very pleased to be working together towards a successful completion in 2008. Christopher Rowe comments “I really appreciated Colony’s respect for the original design concept. We had the design well developed before Colony came on board and we had to make a few compromises but it wasn’t a dumbing down of the project, it was a streamlining of the design. What I enjoyed is the fact that this wasn’t seen as a kind of just another job, there was an enthusiasm about doing something a little bit different and that really helped the project.” John Morley added “We are very pleased so far and I believe it’s going to be a fantastic project we can all be proud of. There’s a lot of comfort that Intrawest and Whistler Blackcomb have been able to garner from working with Colony. Being able to keep within our budget but still deliver the building that everybody dreamed and hoped that they could have.”

Colony begins work on the steel erection in the summer of 2008 once the winter ski season is over.

To follow our progress you can check it out on the Whistler webcam Click Here or on the Peak to Peak site Click Here.

© 2008, Colony Management Inc..
www.colonybuildings.com

Whistler – Making Mountains Out Of Metal
Posted by Colony Management on Tuesday, January 8th, 2008


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