Dryden Ontario Government Building

Following extensive water damage when the hydronic heating system failed, Keewatin-Aski was retained by Infrastructure Ontario (IO)/BGIS to provide design and contract administration services for the renovation of the Ontario Government Building (OGB) located in Dryden.  KAL was tasked with responding to the diverse needs of ministry groups including among others, the Ministry of the Solicitor General (Probation and Parole) and the Ministry of Natural Resources (Enforcement) while synthesizing the common requirements in shared circulation and secure zones. 

Seven discrete contracts we bundled together so that costs for each operational zone could be tracked separately, and the costs associated with the base building repairs would not be attributed to individual ministry budgets.  The construction costs associated with the interior finishing of the ministry spaces was allocated among six contracts while the seventh contract was designated for furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FFE) items alone.

Selection of the interior finishes was made in reference to the Ontario Public Services (OPS) Modern Office Space standard.  The issuance of updated OPS and barrier-free standards late in the design stage of the project presented a challenge for the interior design team that was overcome with focused determination in adapting the material and finish selection to suit the new standards.  The project was also challenged by a fast-track schedule necessary so that ministry groups could relocated from off-site premises where leases could not be extended and could resume public-facing operations from permanent premises. 

The interior design (FFE) scope of work focused on the multi-ministry open office space located at the second storey, and the MNRF Enforcement office on the main floor level.  The FFE scope included the specification of desk units, chairs, working lounge furniture, filing and storage solutions, demountable partitions, and an acoustic screen to screen the meeting rooms from the open office.  In response to concerns about the acoustic performance of the space, furniture and finish components with good noise absorption characteristics were selected, and a zoned white noise system was installed to provide sound masking.