EGBC Innovation Jan-Feb 2023

Dr. Lisa Tobber shipped 15 metres of precast concrete wall built in B.C. to a larger lab at Shanghai’s Tongji University in China, to be shake-table tested to simulate earthquakes and to analyze resiliency. P hoto : C ourtesy of L isa T obber

Significantly cheaper, faster and more reliable in quality than concrete mixed and poured onsite, precast concrete is used extensively in other jurisdictions, including Ontario, but rarely here. “That’s one of the things I want to change,” said Tobber. She believes the construction industry could be more proactive in doing its own research and adopting new ideas, and that greater collaboration between structural and construction engineers, architects, city planners and regulators could mean that good ideas are implemented more quickly. DAMAGE-FREE GOAL In addition to precast concrete, “The example I tend to use is base isolation, a technology that’s been

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