Budget: $4.6 Million
Final Cost: $5.5 Million
Construction Commenced:
May 2001
Construction Completed:
June 2002
Building Specifications:
2 storeys
27,500 sf.
Facility Includes:
Lower Level
- bar
- pro shop
- locker rooms
- staff room
- storage
Upper Level
- restaurant & bar
- banquet rooms
- offices
- kitchen & servery
Pye & Richards Architects
Idwal Richards
Gordon Krieg
John Merkley
Cunliffe & Associates Ltd.
Rick Cunliffe
Dave Cunliffe
Genivar
Dave Henselwood
Ken Hazell
Corush Sunderland Wright Landscape Architects
Jerry Corush
Creative Friction
Celeste Irvine-Jones
Richard Newbury
Kanata Research Park Corporation
Martin Vandewouw, President
Kanata Research Park Construction
Robert Heins, Project Manager
The Marshes Golf Club derives its name from the existing ecosystem - a natural wetland habitat. The course was designed by world-renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones II in collaboration with his father, the late Robert Trent Jones. The natural wetland habitat was carefully preserved and enhanced to create a unique championship golf course located in the heart of a thriving business park. The clubhouse design attempts to embody the contrast of the natural setting of the golf course against the contemporary "glass & steel" of the built environment through which the course meanders. The use of textures and materials, which were common to the farm houses and barns of the area recall the historical use of the property while many of the materials are used in a contemporary way to reflect the new use of the land. The clubhouse stands as a portal through which you pass from the business vernacular to the pastoral recreational environment.
The building was conceived as a group of buildings joined by circulation/gathering spaces. Each wing has its own character, clad in a different material and housing different functions. Rooflines accentuate these different "wings" of the building. The entrance vestibule/lobby at the upper level is the main organizing space and connects all the other spaces; it also provides the first glimpse of the spectacular Gatineau hills through its two-storey glass wall opposite the entrance. The ceiling of the lobby curves upward to create a perpendicular axis with the banquet foyer extending this axis. On either side of the banquet foyer is the banquet halls and administration/service wing. At the "T" of the circulation spaces is a two-storey, timber framed restaurant and bar. The lobby has an open staircase to the lower lobby, which connects to the golfing entrance, the pro shop, the locker rooms, and the Bunker Lounge. At the upper level, a continuous veranda joins the banquet facility with the restaurant providing extensions to both spaces with great views to the golf course and Gatineau hills. A roof terrace above the bar provides a spectacular view of the ninth and eighteenth greens.
The cladding of the building uses materials of a rural vernacular such as stucco, barn board, cedar shingles, and rough limestone. The restaurant is framed in an exposed heavy timber framing common in barn construction. The large fireplace and chimney is a main design feature, and was constructed of reclaimed limestone from the foundation of a derelict barn located on the property. The mantle and some of the furniture are from heavy timbers from the same barn. Contrasting these materials are the more contemporary use of natural and man-made materials such as finely finished maple for the bars, lockers, ceiling tile, and wall panels, steel mesh guard rails, ceramic tile flooring and walls, carpeting, faux painting, etc. The result is a very contemporary building that harkens back to the original rural nature.
The project was developed using a design/construction team that has worked together on virtually all of the many office buildings surrounding the course. The team, including the owner and the construction company, was from the outset able to consider ideas from all parties, and evaluate them through a very intense participatory design process.
The Club House is 27,000 square feet and was constructed at a cost of approximately $6 million dollars including all fit up, equipment, and furnishings. The structure consists of concrete framing for the lower ground level and upper ground floor slab. The remainder is wood frame construction, including heavy timber construction for the restaurant. Accommodations includes: a pro shop; 130 seat capacity restaurant and bar with adjacent veranda and access to an upper viewing terrace; the Bunker Lounge complete with pool table and fireplace; meeting and banquet halls including a separate foyer with bar and adjacent veranda; locker rooms with washrooms, showers and steam room; office space for administrative staff; 2 full kitchens; staff lounge; staff change rooms; service rooms; and storage.
