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Case Study

McMurray Métis Cultural Centre

Year Completed

Under construction

Capital Cost

$74.7M

Total Size

50k sqft.

About This Project

With a mass timber structure, carbon-sequestering concrete, and photovoltaic cladding, the McMurray Métis Cultural Centre in Fort McMurray, Alberta, is among the first Carbon Zero buildings in the heart of Canada’s Oil Sands. The Centre is targeting a One Planet Living endorsement and features include geo-piles and earth tubes to regulate temperature and a biomass boiler to provide carbon-neutral heat.

Designed by Mindful Architecture, the building takes the form of the infinity loop, a key symbol for the Métis people. Visible on Google Earth, the building’s shape marks the land as Métis territory. The east arc features a 500-seat amphitheatre, a place to gather around a fire and share stories. The west arc spirals upward to a rooftop terrace with views of the Athabasca River and Moccasin Flats.

Scope of Services

The Centre was designed to support expressions of Métis culture, and our acoustical team focused its efforts on achieving this key project goal. We tailored the acoustics of the theatre, museum, multipurpose rooms, offices, meeting rooms, and wellness space to make the Centre an ideal venue for sharing stories about the history and culture of the Métis people.

Working closely with the project team, we delivered thoughtful design recommendations to meet provincial technical requirements and create an acoustical environment that supports the cultural and administrative functions of the building.

We developed acoustically absorbent interior finish recommendations to control reverberation and promote speech intelligibility and acoustical comfort. We analyzed the architectural drawings and provided guidance on selecting wall assemblies; construction materials; and doors, seals, and hardware to provide sufficient sound isolation between spaces for privacy and suitably low background noise levels.

We also advised on selecting an air handling system, isolating mechanical and electrical equipment from vibration, and HVAC system upgrades to control background noise levels to promote speech clarity in key spaces.

Project Benefits

At BKL, we help design teams understand how acoustics can benefit their projects. We identify the acoustical risks and deliver insightful, innovative solutions. Using a responsive, tailored approach, our large team of acousticians assists at all stages, from planning to post-construction. We help designers create spaces where acoustics achieve compliance while supporting aesthetics, function, and user experience.

At the McMurray Métis Cultural Centre, we helped create spaces with warm, natural acoustics that support storytelling and oral knowledge sharing. We worked with the design team to listen carefully and incorporate Métis values into the acoustical design.

Testimonial

We are pleased to recommend BKL for their contributions to the acoustical design of the McMurray Métis Cultural Centre. BKL’s team of skilled acousticians brought a deep level of expertise and a thoughtful approach that was aligned with our vision. Their insightful recommendations were rooted in extensive experience and we appreciated their receptivity to our innovative strategies. BKL took the time to thoroughly understand the goals and significance of our project and their commitment to excellence and sensitivity to our values made them an asset to our project’s success.

– Mindful Architecture

Awards

2023 Larsen Architecture Awards Most Innovative Project of the Year

Photo by Mindful Architecture

The People Behind Our Work

Our Technical Leads

  • Paul Marks
    Paul Marks

    M.Sc., MIOA

    Vice President, Project Delivery

    Paul Marks

    Paul Marks, M.Sc., MIOA

    Vice President, Project Delivery

    Paul Marks joined BKL in 2013. He is a full corporate member of the UK Institute of Acoustics and the Canadian Acoustical Association. He has over 20 years’ experience in the measurement, analysis, and assessment of noise, vibration, and acoustical matters and is a former member of the technical advisory team working with the UK government on noise and statutory nuisance issues. During this time, Paul has undertaken major projects within Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

    He has experience in a wide range of multi-disciplinary environmental assessment projects including highway, rail, and air transportation infrastructure, mixed-use and brownfield regeneration schemes, renewable energy facilities, and power generation plants.

    Paul also has experience in a broad range of building and architectural noise assessment projects including the design of residential, office, educational, and commercial buildings. He has also undertaken acoustical studies for major infrastructure developments including work in the design of appropriate sound-fields for room-spaces in multi-occupancy buildings, including atriums and performance spaces. His work regularly involves close liaison with other acoustical engineers, planning consultants, architects, designers, and a variety of specialist environmental consultants.

    Paul is an experienced expert witness within the UK and has a broad experience of planning, licensing and statutory nuisance proceedings as well as being responsible for the successful design of a variety of impact mitigation measures including detailed engineering solutions, lay-out design, and administrative regimes where it has been necessary to closely liaise with clients, designers, and regulatory bodies in order to provide developments in accordance with sustainable principles.

  • Katrina Scherebnyj
    Katrina Scherebnyj

    M.A.Sc., P.Eng., MIOA

    Technical Director, Building Acoustics

    Katrina Scherebnyj

    Katrina Scherebnyj, M.A.Sc., P.Eng., MIOA

    Technical Director, Building Acoustics

    Katrina Scherebnyj started consulting in acoustics in 2007 in England and joined BKL in 2014. Her experience covers architectural acoustics, mechanical noise control, and environmental noise control, and she has worked on major projects in Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

    In architectural acoustics, Katrina has worked on a range of new builds and refurbishment projects including schools, universities and higher education facilities, hospitals and healthcare facilities, performance spaces, cinemas, laboratories, office buildings, hotels, and residential buildings. She has provided acoustical design services in relation to sound insulation, room acoustics, and noise control.

    Katrina was a co-author of Music Accommodation in Secondary Schools: A Design Guide, published for the UK Department for Education in 2010. Researching the guide, she carried out acoustical measurements in the music departments of several schools and interviewed music teachers and students on the suitability of their music spaces.

    Katrina has extensive experience modelling internal sound fields and has carried out numerous models of performance spaces, lecture theatres, and other spaces where acoustical design is critical. She also has experience modelling outdoor noise propagation and has constructed and reviewed noise models for Columbia Containers in Vancouver, BC Children’s and Women’s Hospitals, the Pinnacle (once planned to be London’s tallest building), Crossrail, and other transportation projects.

    Katrina is a member of the Canadian Acoustical Association and the Institute of Acoustics (UK).

  • Henning Schlechtriem
    Henning Schlechtriem

    M.Sc.

    Managing Specialist Acoustical Consultant

    Henning Schlechtriem

    Henning Schlechtriem, M.Sc.

    Managing Specialist Acoustical Consultant

    Henning Schlechtriem, M.Sc., joined BKL in February 2020. He has 8 years of international project experience working as professional acoustical consultant in the design and assessment of residential and non-residential buildings.

    Henning has a Master’s Degree in Acoustics with Environmental Applications and a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering with specialization in building physics and acoustics. His professional expertise focuses on the fields of architectural and environmental acoustics. He is a proficient with software such as Odeon, SoundPLAN, STRUTT, Insul, Rhino+Grasshopper, Max/MSP, and with measurement equipment from Brüel And Kjær, NTi and Norsonic.

    He has worked together with architects, investors, municipalities, as well as structural and mechanical engineers, covering a wide range of projects including office, residential, and mixed-use buildings, hotels, hospitals, schools, and cultural venues. His work has involved the acoustical design and on-site assessment of room acoustics, sound insulation including flanking transmission, environmental noise and noise from building services.

    Henning has given presentations to architects and technical planners to share his knowledge about the acoustical design of masonry, concrete and lightweight constructions, timber-concrete hybrid buildings and general acoustical challenges during the design of buildings.

    He is a member of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Akustik, the German Association of Acoustics (DEGA) and is an Approved Assessor for Acoustics and Building Physics at the Chamber of Engineers in NRW and Hessen (Germany).

  • Andrew Williamson
    Andrew Williamson

    P.Eng., B.S.M.E.

    Specialist Acoustical Consultant

    Andrew Williamson

    Andrew Williamson, P.Eng., B.S.M.E.

    Specialist Acoustical Consultant

    A graduate of the University of Victoria, Andrew Williamson holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and has practiced as an acoustical consultant in BC for over two decades. He joined BKL in 2023.

    During his career, Andrew has worked on numerous projects involving environmental noise assessments, building noise and vibration control, and architectural acoustics. As a project manager, Andrew has led acoustics teams on a variety of projects across sectors including cultural and recreation, education and research, health care, industrial, commercial, and residential.

    Andrew has attended public meetings, open houses, and government-sponsored working groups to present and discuss technical information with the public, municipal councils, and members of the government and other organizations. In addition, Andrew has acted as an expert witness in BC Supreme Court and participated in a joint review panel hearing for the environmental assessment of a major infrastructure project.

    Andrew is a Professional Engineer registered with Engineers and Geoscientists BC.