Since 1969, the Head Office of Wavefront Centre has been operating out of a rambling old building near Kitsilano beach, on 2125 West 7th Avenue. Over the years, the building has been showing its age and is no longer able to accommodate the accessibility, clinical or technological needs of our growing client base. Renovations are not a cost effective option given the building’s advanced age.
Through strong board governance, years of planning, and the leadership of Chris Newton, Chair of our Capital Campaign, we are excited to open a new purpose-built facility, set to open on October 7, 2019.
This new centre will meet the needs of our rapidly growing client base and serve as a model for other such communities in Canada.
Centrally located in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant district (new address is 2005 Quebec Street), our new 18,000 sq. ft., Wavefront Centre will be a model of innovation and inclusion – we’ve gone the extra mile to ensure a seamless transition for our existing clients, while increasing capacity for new ones. Our new four-story facility will be suitably equipped to ensure Deaf, Deafblind, and Hard of Hearing individuals have an accessible space to connect, build community and access our vital services.
Working in collaboration with the Rick Hansen Foundation and MGBA Architecture + Interior Design, we’re utilizing universal design principles to set a new standard of excellence in accessible built environments. Wavefront Centre will ensure people can interact freely regardless of hearing, vision, mobility or age-related challenges.
In partnership with Conwest Group of Companies, Cushman & Wakefield, Field & Marten Associates, and Fusion Projects, we aim to ensure that every aspect of the new centre – from safety-enhancing wide hallways to acoustically-optimized finishings throughout – will meet the needs of people of who face all types of challenges in daily living.
ACCESSIBLE BUILDING FEATURES INCLUDE:
Curved corridor corners to enable clear sightlines to approaching individuals
Improved lighting to elevate visual communication cues
Large-area assistive listening system in meeting rooms
Visual and auditory alerting, security and wayfinding system
Visual displays in meeting rooms to project captioning and interpreting services
Accessible washrooms with fixtures and counters optimized for wheelchairs and those with mobility issues
Wider corridors to not only accommodate wheelchairs but also to provide adequate space for sign language users as they travel through hallways
Acoustically optimized walls, ceilings and flooring to control room reverberation, sound transfer and background noise
Strategic installation of electrical and mechanical systems to reduce the effects of electromagnetic interference on induction loop systems
STAY TUNED! We will report back with an update on the construction of this new facility in the coming weeks. Wavefront Centre is proudly leading an endeavour that will set new benchmarks for communication accessibility.
