Innovation Summer 2025

BCIT TALL TIMBER STUDENT HOUSING The Tall Timber student housing project at the BC Institute of Technology in Burnaby, is the first of the next generation of point-supported cross-laminated timber (CLT) structures and represents a significant advancement in tall, hybrid, mass-timber construction. This project demonstrates point-supported CLT systems are a cost-competitive alternative to traditional concrete structures. The insights gleaned from this project are already influencing the design and construction of future mass-timber buildings. An innovative system of mass timber and prefabrication was used within this project. Each mass-timber level features flat, two-way spanning, hemlock-based CLT floor plates, point-supported on steel columns – all without the use of beams. The use of 11’6”-wide CLT panels, consisting of five layers of 2x lumber, provides adequate bending resistance and stiffness in two directions, with consideration for punching shear at highly loaded column locations. Company: Fast + Epp Participants: Ian Boyle, P.Eng., Struct.Eng., PE, SE; Jamie Pobre Sullivan, P.Eng., SE, PMP. P hoto : A ndrew L atreille New Gold’s New Afton Mine near Kamloops, BC, reached a significant milestone in 2024 with its first ore production from the C-Zone block cave expansion. This project introduced a new block cave mining zone, an underground tunnel network, and a crushing and conveying system for efficient ore transport to the surface for processing. Fluor Canada managed the design and procurement of the crushing and conveying infrastructure. A notable innovation was installing an MMD Group double-roll sizer, which initially crushed development rock for surface conveyance, cutting haul truck emissions. The final system configuration included a gyratory crusher near the ore body to reduce haul distances, the MMD sizer for secondary size reduction, and an Industrial Equipment Manufacturing conveyor system to move crushed ore to the surface, reflecting New Gold’s commitment to sustainability and efficiency. Company: New Gold Inc. Participants: Fluor: Ian McElmoyle, P.Eng.; Sabrina Woodworth, P.Eng.; Dylan Graydon, P.Eng.; Kevin Cheng, P.Eng.; Andrew Ji, P.Eng.; Peter Haagen, P.Eng. New Gold: Grant Kornelson; Christopher Prychon, P.Eng.; Bryan Strahl, P.Eng.; Michael Weiers, P.Eng. P hoto : G rant K ornelson C-ZONE UNDERGROUND MINE CRUSH CONVEY SYSTEM

Innovation Summer 2025

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