canadian builders quarterly-- "the solutionists"

8/3/2019 Canadian Builders Quarterly-- "The Solutionists"

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architects four limited, p. 7Working in concert with the landsca

cornerstone architecture, p. 25Perecting resort design

CaadaBdrQartry

november/december 2011

Behind Canadas most complex projects is the work of structural engineers,whose solutions and expertise are often left unsung p. 60

The

soluTionisTs

From clay to brick tolimestone, the cratcontinues to evolve itshistoric infuence onthe province

masonryin ontario

p. 68


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november/december 201160 Canadian Builders Quarterly


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Canadian Builders Quarterly november/december 2011 6

while architects may design the visually stunning building, it is the

structural engineer who serves as the sites chie problem solver. The

proession requires an adherence to the architects vision o what the

client has asked or while operating within the nancial and

pragmatic limits o the project. They must respect and uphold building codes.They must take into consideration public saety. They must meet the architec-

tural challenges unique to each project, and plan or problems both oreseen and

not. Its a job with a lot o responsibility, but or those who make it a livelihood,

they wouldnt have it any other way. Its a solutions business, and the best know

how to deliver eciently and eectively.

For Ethan Ghidoni, a principal o the Toronto-based Blackwell Bowick

Partnership, the job is one o acilitation and fexibility. There are a bunch o

dierent things that an engineer can do to contribute to making the construction

process run smoothly, he says. One o them is to oresee problems on the site

based on the demands o the project, and then come up with good, experience-

based solutions or those. The other thing we contribute is coming up with

solutions and approaches while being fexible, and incorporating the thoughts or

ideas o the contractors. I were working together, we can usually come up with agreat solution thats easy to build.

Blackwell Bowick has emerged as one o the leading structural engineering

rms in the country, as has Vancouver-based rm Read Jones Christoersen

(RJC). Both rms oer their clients groundbreaking solutions, rom the latest,

most innovative technologies to on-site problem solving. Thomas Poon, an

associate at RJC, says, We help with client development, proposals, and looking

ater projectsrom the conceptual design, to the contract-document stage, to

construction administration, including design and construction meetings.

Behind each o Canadas most complex projects arestructural engineers like bakwebowikpateiltd. and readjoecitoffeeunsung heroeswhose knowledge and wherewithal are providing answersto some o the industrys most difcult questions

By Lisa Ryan

Read Jones Christoersen recently

completed an addition to the beaty

biodiveityreeacete&

natuahitoymueuto house

its prized mature emale blue whale

and several other specimens. The

85-oot-long skeleton is suspended

rom the ceiling with stainless-steel

cables. The rms Vancouver

structural-engineering team

provided engineering or both the

building and the elegant whale

suspension system.

SOLUTIONISTSTHE

Potos:micaelserman.ca.


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robson Doms,Ic rink & Plaza

The two domes o the Robson Domes, Ice Rink & Plaza

are a stunning spectacle, transparent and otentimes

illuminated. In order to support the weight o the new

domes, the existing cantilevered concrete beams had

to be upgraded. RJC, the engineers behind the

revitalization, were also tasked with tting the domes

into existing semicircular support structures.

The structure o each dome was created using a

3-D REVIT model and SAP program. The rm also took

weather load and temperatures into consideration.

Approximately 144,000 pounds o stainless steel were

used in the construction o the domes. The ice rink

was also expanded 10 inches rom each end o the

ormer ice rink in order to t one ull sheet or curling,

and the existing structures at the plaza were checked

thoroughly or the extra weight o the new ice rink.

Since its completion, the Robson Domes, Ice Rink

& Plaza has won countless accolades. It was awarded

the CISC 2009 BC Steel Awards and Award o

Excellence, whose judging architect described it as

the jewel o the ring.

Vancouver, BC

Potos:hubertkang,

MicaelElan,andziggyWels.


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Poon and his colleagues oten nd themselves tasked

with challenging structural designs and must constantly

seek out innovative ways to interpret the architects

vision. While working with Hughes Condon Marler Archi-

tects on Vancouvers Robson Dome, Ice Rink & Plaza,

which served as the 2010 Winter Olympics celebration

site, the client requested that the team t an elliptical

dome into an existing structure. The new elliptical dome

geometry is to suit into existing semicircle beams, Poon

explains. We sliced horizontally through a toroidal

surace to suit the existing semicircular beam geometry,

which provides a constant surace that allows or

repetitive glass production. RJC kept the dome membersas ar apart as possible to achieve architectural transpar-

ency. The dome itsel is 22 eet, cantilevered rom the tip

o the existing 25-oot cantilevered beam, to create the

sense o lightness that the architect was looking or,

Poon says. It was a real challenge to upgrade the existing

beam to suit new geometry and loadings o the dome.

Poon also points out the location o the dome, at the

congested intersection o Robson Street and Howe Street,

was a potential roadblock o the project. Lengthy

erection o steel is not allowed on the busy streets, he

says. The construction team divided each dome into our

pieces, which were pretted in their shop to suit the

existing geometry, then promptly dismantled and shippedthem to the construction site overnight. The pieces were

hoisted and connected to each dome over the course o

eight hours spread between two consecutive Saturdays.

The end result is stunning, Poon says. The dome is one

o the examples o architectural vision and engineering

working in unison.

Poons colleague Dr. C.C. Yao, a principal with the rm,

aced dierent obstacles while working on the University

o British Columbias Beaty Biodiversity Research Centre

and Natural History Museum, as the project called or a

modern, sleek design while also requiring extra space to

The dome is one of the examplesof architectural vision andengineering working in unison.

thomas poon, associate,

read jones christofferson

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store the centres ossils and samples. We actually created

a basement, Yao says. He and his team designed a large

underground storage area or the centres archives and

research, and added on a new research wing and oce. To

allow visitors o the museum to view the specimens, theteam created a large pit with a glass covering on top o it in

the new basement. The building was recently awarded the

Lieutenant Governors Medal or Architecture.

Ghidoni points out that, while these obstacles are

unique to their respective projects, engineers must

overcome similar roadblocks quite requently and are

trained to oresee any and all problems that may arise on a

construction site. One o the biggest ways to avoid

problems with the construction process is to predict

them, he says. When youre doing design in the early

stages, you must predict very clearly exactly how the

builder would want to build it. That type o thinking will

oten give you the best solutions.

As Blackwell Bowick was working on the structural

design o the 150,000-square-oot Brampton Soccer

Centre in 2007, principal Christian Bellini had toconsider the potential impact o lateral loads rom

winds or earthquakes. Bellini utilized a series o

structural steel bases to ensure that the indoor soccer

eld was secure. He also oresaw the potential danger o

building on the sites variable soil and decided to replace

the soil with engineered ll materials eaturing hidden

layers o compaction, a veritable invisible ingenuity. In

the end, the building was actually built on a layer o

engineered ll, Bellini says.

Bellini also points out that one o the structural

engineers top challenges is to work within the nancial


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SOLUTIONISTSTHE

When it comes to knowledge andunderstanding new technologies andinnovative things in the market, wemust have a good understanding ofthem, know how they work, and beable to utilize them at the proper time.ethan ghidoni, principal,blackwell bowick partnership

Opposite and let: Blackwell

Bowicks innovative solution or

thebatosoecete

involved replacing the sites

variable soil with an engineered

ll. The threat o wind and

earthquakes led to the

structures steel reinorcement.


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6 evgn

Toronto, ON

When it came to the structural design o 6 Evergreen, a

private residence located in Toronto, Blackwell Bowick

principal Ian Mountort worked in tandem with the architect

and builder to nd the best responses to problems that

came up, Mountort says. For this house, they wanted

to achieve a very high-level modern aesthetic, but in the

parameters o conventional stud construction.

The team decided to use engineered lumber only when

they needed it and attempted to stick with conventional

platorm raming. To achieve the houses sleek look, the team

added windows all across the ront o the house. Embedded

steel-plate columns, sandwiched around conventional wood

raming, help the structure resist wind orces.

The house could have been all structural steel with

wooding, but instead we went to conventional reinorced,

Mountort says. The nal outcome is a contemporary, clean,

and open house, with extraordinary architectural detail.


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limitations o each project. That means utilizing cost-e-

cient materials and cutting out excessive, unnecessary

aspects o the design when necessary. The engineers

must also have open communication with everyone

involved in the construction process.

When there are problems on-site, or i theres been

changes made by the client, we must be able to provide

solid, qualitative eedback to the contractor to enable

them to make inormed decisions about how theyregoing to construct something, Ghidoni says.

Blackwell Bowick principal Ian Mountort took such

nancial restrictions into consideration with the design

o 6 Evergreen, a private residence in Toronto. The

project was a contemporary house, eaturing large

windows and a polished design. With the clients xed on

a really tight budget, Mountort worked with the projects

architect and contractor to tackle each o the problems in

the most nancially sound way possible. In once case, the

house has a tall window in the ront centre, and the roos

prole originally slimmed right down on it. All o the

SOLUTIONISTSTHE

raming o the house had to accommodate the window

and roo. We developed some workable details to

achieve that, and I think the eect is exactly what the

architect was looking or, Mountort says.

While such an endeavour could have cost the client a

pretty penny, Blackwell Bowick stayed on budget to

ensure that the raming was done in a cost-ecient

manner. It was the house they wanted in the budget they

wanted, Mountort says.The adaptability exemplied in 6 Evergreen is

indicative o the problem-solving nature inherent in the

day-to-day workload o a structural engineer.

As they are each construction sites problem solvers,

structural engineers have to constantly educate

themselves on new construction techniques and

emerging technologies. Ghidoni says it best: When it

comes to knowledge and understanding new technolo-

gies and innovative things in the market, we must have a

good understanding o them, know how they work, and

be able to utilize them at the proper time.CBQ

One of the biggest ways to avoidproblems with the constructionprocess is to predict them. Whenyoure doing design in the earlystages, you must predict veryclearly exactly how the builderwould want to build it.ethan ghidoni, principal,blackwell bowick partnership

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