INNOVATION July-August 2016

411 Dunsmuir is a 100-year-old heritage office building located in downtown Vancouver. OMICRON rehabilitated and expanded the building to provide a unique Class B office–mixed-use building with boutique floor plates. The 45,000-square-foot project included a complete renovation and partial seismic upgrade of the existing Class B heritage building and a 14,000-square-foot, four-storey addition. A new transformer and secondary power distribution board were added to the existing indoor dual-radial high-voltage switch, and a new grounding grid was installed to upgrade building power distribution and provide capacity for future additions. A new roof-mounted air-handling unit provides the building’s heating, cooling, and ventilation system.Variable air volume boxes with re-heat coils are provided on the supply air duct on each floor. A high-efficiency condensing boiler was installed in the building.The building is fully monitored and controlled by a building management system. APEGBC members: Alex Riftin, P.Eng.; Calvin Schmitke, P.Eng., Struct.Eng.; Jack Zhang, P.Eng.; Bill Tucker, P.Eng.; Tim Loo, P.Eng Heritage Building Acquires 21 st -Century Systems

Vancouver House Excavation and Shoring Excavation for the Vancouver House development began in May 2015. Encroachment for tie-back anchors at the southern end of the site was not provided, and engineers were faced with the task of supporting the 28-metre-deep vertical cut using internal braces. Braces had to be positioned to avoid critical vertical reinforcement zones in the proposed structure, which led to the asymmetric design. Value engineering was used prior to construction on this project. The contractor worked with the geotechnical consultant to develop a cost-effective concept that met all the geotechnical requirements. This resulted in reduced construction schedule and overall project costs. The excavation successfully reached final grade in February 2016. ICON West Construction Corporation (general contractor); APEGBC members, Southwest Contracting Ltd (excavation and shoring): Daniel Sims, EIT; Somerset Engineering (structural steel): Raymond Florendo, P.Eng.; GeoPacific Consultants Ltd. (geotechnical engineering): Matthew Kokan, P.Eng., Michael Indelak, P.Eng.

Using new technology, thermal bridging heat transfer in steel framing is reduced by 80 to 90 percent. Another benefit is reduced steel use by up to 44 percent. Vancouver-based Structa Wire Corp. has invented such a thermally efficient steel-stud framing system. The studs consist of two metal flanges, with a web of double truss wires that are resistance welded to the flanges. The tracks are also thermally improved. The Civil Engineering Department at the University of British Columbia modelled and tested the system’s structural properties: the limiting height–strength tables for this system closely match conventional steel framing. The university’s Mechanical Engineering Department performed thermal modelling. Hot box testing, at Oakridge Research National Laboratories, confirmed U values 55 percent lower than conventional framing. The system improves energy performance, reduces material use, and reduces sound transmission. APEGBC members: William Spilchen, P.Eng., Dr. Tony Yang, P.Eng., Dr. Nima Atabaki, P.Eng., Matthew Bell, EIT. Energy-Efficient Steel Framing SystemReduces Heat Transfer and Steel Use

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