May 29, 2010

FEATURE | Steel

HALSALL ASSOCIATES

Tower South Elevation at Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence at Ottawa’s Algonquin College.

Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence getting new $77-million home

DAN O’REILLY

correspondent

With a fast-paced schedule designed to meet the Infrastructure Stimulus Funding program’s March 2011 deadline and a desire to achieve LEED Platinum, composite steel was the building material of choice for the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence at Ottawa’s Algonquin College.

Designed by Diamond and Schmitt Architects Incorporated and Edward J. Cuhaci and Associates, the $77-milllion, 190,000-square-foot structure will house all the college’s construction related programs.

It consists of a five-storey structural steel classroom tower highlighted with an atrium and a two-storey 100-metre-long structural steel, concrete, and precast low-rise structure for the trade shops. EllisDon is the design builder and Halsall Associates Ltd. is the structural consultant.

Approximately 1,500 tons of trusses, columns and other steel components will have been designed, fabricated and erected by Guelph-based Telco Steelworks by the time the project is finished.

“We are on a fast-track and the use of steel helps meet that schedule,” says Michael Leckman, principal, Diamond and Schmitt. “And constructing a building of this type with long spans consumes less embodied energy with composite steel.”

For example, while the 12-metre-long spans in the classrooms are somewhat long compared to standard academic buildings, they facilitated the design and construction of a space where the corridors have been minimized and a maximum use of classroom space has been achieved.

“It’s a very efficient use of a building,” he says.

In many of the workshop areas there are oversized 22-metre-long trusses which give those areas a nine-metre-height space compared to the seven-metre clearance the college had originally wanted.

“We recommended the extra height to support possible needed expansion in the future,” explains Leckman.

“The trade shop building actually showcases three different framing approaches,” says Tom Stevens, shareholder, Halsall Associates.

The central section is conventional cast-in-place concrete slabs supported by reinforced concrete beams and columns, while the floor framing on the west side consists primarily of 800 deep precast double-tees’s supported by reinforced concrete beams and columns.

The floor framing for the mezzanines on the east side are composite concrete slab and steel girders and purlins. 

Most of the roof structure is steel decking supported by structural steel beams and steel joists, says Stevens. 

It isn’t just the trusses and other steel supports which are being utilized to meet the dual scheduling and sustainability objectives.

Another feature is the centre’s insulated steel wall panel system comprised of approximately 1,060 individual panels. It will serve as both the exterior cladding and the interior finish.

“It is important to note the panels have an R30 insulation value,” says Leckman.

Manufactured by Vicwest Steel, the four-inch-thick panels will extend the full height of each floor and will be married with the punched window system. “We will be right behind the window contractor,” says Victor Da Rosa, sales manager for Ritz Metals, the panel subcontractor.

While the installation will be fairly straightforward, it won’t be without its challenges.

Because of the centre’s modular-style construction, the panels come in 24- 30- and 42-inch widths and they will require some adjustment, says Da Rosa, who expects the work to take about 40 days to complete.

Apart from the innovative use of steel, the project is unusual for the array of sustainability features that will be incorporated into the centre.

They include a five-storey bio-wall in the atrium, a storm-water recovery system, and a green roof to name just a few.

“This is not like anything I’ve seen in my working life,” says EllisDon construction manager Rocco Sala in referring to the centre’s features and design.

The fast paced schedule has required a lot of sequential tendering and some compromises from the subcontractors, he says.

“We’re already telling the finishing trades they better be prepared to do double shifts.”

Print | Email | Comment