Located at the northeast corner of Willingdon and Lougheed Highway in North Burnaby, British Columbia, the Brentwood shopping centre had Eaton’s, Loblaws Supermarket, and Zellers among the leading anchor stores when it opened in August 1962, making it the oldest shopping mall in Burnaby.
The mall has been undergoing small renovations and expansion since the early 1970s, and by 2010, it had 125 stores and services. In 2010, Shape Properties acquired the regional mall and proposed the redevelopment plans for what is now, The Amazing Brentwood.
Currently, the Shape Properties planned revitalization is one of the most significant redevelopment projects of its kind in North America, with four phases scheduled over 20 years. As a mixed-use and transit-oriented city core, the extensive expansion will place Brentwood on the map as the region’s preferred shopping, leisure, and entertainment destination that supports a sustainable lifestyle where the community can shop, work, live, and play. With new residential and commercial office opportunities, The Amazing Brentwood is also an attractive home for residents and businesses.
In collaboration with SWA Architects, Crystal Fountains was initially involved at the concept level as consultants to assist landscape architects and used our WATERlab™ CREATE for simulations of the design. However, when Shape Properties brought us on as the designers on record, our involvement deepened. This collaboration took WATERlab™ far beyond simulations, resulting in a new circular water table surrounding a 40-foot tall tree that stands as a gathering spot in the public plaza of the development.
Our job was to create a design that leveraged the location of The Amazing Brentwood and create a water feature design that would be a significant draw within the plaza. Using WATERlab™ CREATE, we delivered a complete simulation, including our hung sequencing jets, custom dancing ESpyra nozzles, RGBW ring lights, sequencing Finger Jets, and Atomizing Fog. It is an impressive simulation that helped the group see what was possible and solidify that the design was perfect for the space. WATERlab™ CONTROL was then implemented to its fullest; for full musical choreography with cloud-control, remote troubleshooting at Startup and commissioning, all while our Toronto team remotely supported their local technicians on site.
We also partnered with the owners’ group, Shape Properties, who invested in a beta launch of the new electric spyra, or dancing nozzle. Through the design process, we determined that the pneumatic spyra had several limitations and implementation challenges that led to the redesign of the spyra to electric movement modules. This redesign allowed us to simplify the system and infrastructure of the sypra, integrating it into the water feature.
With a 17-meter tree vessel, lit step cascades, and five pools, the water feature is now at the center of surrounding businesses and a stunning attraction and meeting spot for visitors. And after seven years of construction, the plaza of The Amazing Brentwood is now ready for the Brentwood community to enjoy!
