Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 20/02) - Northern architects will get some pieces of a $1.1 million design contract for the new federal building in Yellowknife.

Announced yesterday, the contract will go to Edmonton-based Manasc Isaac, which has worked on buildings like the Yukon Visitor Centre, the Edmonton International Air Terminal building and the Banff Town Hall.

But Yellowknife firms PSAV Architects, A D Williams Engineering and Avens Associates are listed as sub-contractors on the successful bid.

"Green architecture is an emerging technology (which will be used in the new building). This is an advantage to the firm because we're going to be picking up on some of this technology," said Darrell Vikse, an architect with PSAV.

The building will be designed for 200 occupants and cost an estimated $20 million. It will be headquarters for a number of federal agencies currently spread across town. The government hopes the building will be ready for occupancy by the fall of 2004.

The tender drew proposals from all of the Yellowknife architectural firms. However, only a few carried through with both stages of the two-phase application process.

Architect Gino Pin said the application process seemed biased toward southern firms, as it emphasized price and experience with large buildings. Firms like Guy Architects spent more than three weeks drafting proposals for the competitive process.

Architect Wayne Guy said had his firm won the project, it would have meant about 20 jobs for Yellowknife. Jerry Jaud, an architect with Ferguson Simek Clark, said the building will require between 10,000-15,000 man-hours to design.

"We know the city intimately," said Guy.

"It's a missed opportunity and I hope we don't get a glass box like they did in Edmonton (at Canada Place)," he said.