The Iona Beach Regional Park washroom facility is an essential service for visitors to the popular park, however, the existing structure raises limitations in adapting to increasing capacity needs and anticipated climate impacts, notably potential flooding events due to projected sea level rise. The Iona Beach Washroom Feasibility Study was to develop and assess the potential of both renovation and replacement of the existing facility to navigate these anticipated stresses.
Over the course of this study and through several discussions with Metro Vancouver Regional Parks, a best value path forward for the washroom facility was developed to address climate and capacity stresses while also enhancing park visitor experience and connection with nature, supporting the five key goals of Metro Vancouver's Regional Parks Plan (2022), and powerfully demonstrating Metro Vancouver’s responses to sea level rise at a frontline site of climate change. This approach contemplates the future of the IBRP washroom facility in three distinct stages:
Immediate renovation of the existing facility to extend its useful lifespan until about 2040.
Future replacement of the washroom facility in an alternate location to provide a resilient facility for the 21st century.
Future decommission and reuse of the existing facility structure for an alternate purpose that can support Metro Vancouver Regional Parks’ mandate, poetically illustrate the impacts of a changing climate, and demonstrate Metro Vancouver’s approach to adaptation.
It is expected that this approach will prolong the useful lifespan of the existing facility as much as is possible while allowing for long term planning of an eventual replacement facility. This approach will also allow for greater clarity around anticipated climate impacts, capacity needs, and outcomes of the adjacent Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant Projects prior to construction of a new washroom facility. Ultimately, it is expected that this approach is best suited to responding to the uncertain nature of these impacts and providing resilience to the anticipated challenges of the 21st century.
Client: Metro Vancouver Regional Parks Location: Richmond, BC Completion: 2023 Team: Local Practice (Architect), Fast & Epp (Structural Engineeri), Hanscomb (Cost Estimator)