Diamond Schmitt Architects is designing a new community centre for the Town of Oakville. The Southeast Community Centre will be located adjacent to a new town park and will feature a double gymnasium, fitness centre and a 25-metre pool.

The community centre project is an Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) contract, a tripartite design process where client, architect and constructor work together to develop creative solutions across all aspects of project delivery. The contractor for the project is Graham Construction.

Diamond Schmitt is currently working with Oakville and Graham Construction on the revitalization of Trafalgar Park, which includes a recreation centre, ice rink expansion and new fire station. It is the first Lean IPD project by a Canadian municipality.

“We are pleased to have been selected again by the Town of Oakville to design and deliver a recreation centre that will enhance the community,” said David Dow, principal at Diamond Schmitt, in a press release. “Oakville shows leadership in recognizing the value inherent in the IPD model and has turned to experienced practitioners for this next project.”

The IPD model is a significant change from conventional contractual arrangements for design and construction where the client, contractor, architect and the full project team work with together with complete collaboration and transparency. The IPD model uses established lean principals and building information modelling (BIM) to reduce waste, increase value to the owner and maximize efficiency. This is not Diamond Schmitt’s first project using the IPD model; previously, the company designed an academic facility and residence for Waterloo’s St. Jerome’s University with an IPD model.