INNOVATION May-June 2012

The Awards for Engineering Excellence celebrate outstanding achievement in BC’s consulting engineering industry. This year, the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies British Columbia recognized the following projects for innovation and technical excellence in five award categories.

2012 ACEC BC Awards for Engineering Excellence

Award of Merit Burnaby Lake Rejuvenation Project – Urban Jewel

Buildings Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Engineering Excellence VanDusen Botanical Gardens Visitor Centre

Consultant: MCWConsultants | Client/ Owner: University of British Columbia The UBC Renew program seeks to modernize, rather than replace, outdated and obsolete buildings. This $45 million project was fast-tracked through design and construction in only 19 months to meet the federal stimulus funding deadline. Key project achievements involved adapting high-performance electrical and mechanical systems into existing structures not designed for a modern laboratory. The Renew approach saved 49% in construction energy used, 85% in material use, and reduced emissions by 60%. The new facility is targeting LEED Gold certification, and will accrue enormous operating energy savings over the next 40 years. Municipal Award of Excellence No 4 Road Drainage Pump Station

Consultant: Associated Engineering | Client/ Owner: City of Burnaby To mitigate years of infilling by contaminated sediments from the lake’s urban watershed, the engineering team designed a train of advanced engineering technologies to support sustainable dredging of the lake. To protect the aquatic environment, double turbidity barriers were used to contain mobile sediment resulting from dredging, and to separate fish, turtles and other species from dredging operations. The lake now has a deeper water column that encourages oxygenation, clears the path for spawning salmon, nurtures 400 native species, and has enabled rowers to return to the lake. Transportation Award of Excellence Harbourside West Pedestrian Overpass

Consultant: Fast + Epp Structural Engineers | Owner: City of Vancouver, Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation | Client: Perkins + Will Canada This stunning 19,000 ft 2 visitors’ centre includes lecture rooms, exhibition space, a café, and guest services. It features a free- form, organically shaped roof structure, which metaphorically represents petals of an orchid and is believed to be the first example of wood use for such a complex form. Seventy-one unique panels consisting of glue-laminated wood and standard dimensional lumber components were designed to have mechanical, electrical, acoustical and ceiling finish components pre-installed. The structure is targeting Living Building Challenge and LEED

Consultant: Aplin &Martin Consultants | Client/Owner: City of Richmond Aplin & Martin worked with the project team to develop cost-effective solutions to meet the City’s objectives including doubling the pumping capacity, waterfront beautification, integration with the City Parks Trail Strategy, incorporating public art, raising the dike in the vicinity of the pump station and providing onsite standby power. The project embraced green initiatives, including planted terraces in the intertidal zone. All design and construction work was 95% complete by the imposed nine month deadline with costs coming in just under the $4.8 million budget.

Platinum status. Award of Merit UBC Biological Sciences Complex

Consultant: Hatch Mott MacDonald | Client/ Owner: City of North Vancouver Hatch Mott MacDonald aimed to enhance community access in the area and provide safe passage over the railway to create this key link in the Spirit Trail. They addressed numerous

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