Ladacor breaks ground on Banff modular project

BANFF, ALTA.- Ladacor Modular has broken ground on a new project in Banff, Alta.

The team will be replacing old Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts (CRMR) staff housing with a new facility made from upcycled shipping containers.
The project, known as Bufffalo Paddock, will use the shipping containers as part of a modular building technology. Calgary-based Ladacor Advanced Modular Systems will fabricate the containers to factory-finished modules, which will be transported to the site and then craned into place.
According to Ladacor, a major advantage of building this way is the reduction of the project’s environmental footprint.
“Using this modular-building approach offers numerous benefits over conventional wood construction,” said Larkin O’Connor, development manager of CRMR, in a press release. “There is a faster schedule, off-site construction means less disruption to the town and surrounding neighbours.”
The development includes two three-storey apartment buildings with sustainable design features, a gable roof, timber and stone details, a landscaped central courtyard and front setback area as well as extensive community amenity space, the release reads.
“Though the building is constructed using modular components it adheres to the Town of Banff’s Design Guidelines,” said Jamie Clark, principal, Systemic Architecture. “These guidelines require a high degree of timber frame detailing and other elements that create a mountain architecture esthetic.”
While the ground has just been broken at the project site in Banff, crews in Calgary are already constructing the apartment units. The project has a building-permit in place and occupancy scheduled for spring 2018.
“We are giving the shipping containers a higher-purpose, as part of a high-quality steel structure, that is both cost-effective due to its fast-tracked schedule and offers the design flexibility to blend comfortably in to the Banff community,” said Darrell Nimchuk, president of Ladacor.