The Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC) has honoured innovative steel construction projects in its 21st Ontario steel design awards of excellence.


The non-profit institute, which represents the structural steel, open-web steel joist and steel platework fabricating industries, last night presented awards of excellence in four categories. Two awards of merit were handed out as well.


In all, 17 projects were submitted.


The award of excellence in the architectural category went to the Queenston Plaza border crossing. Designed by Moriyama & Teshima Architects, the project was built in two phases in order to maintain continuous traffic movement across the border.


Phase 1 included a toll house building with integrated parking garage as well as the steel-framed toll and customs commercial canopies and a 300-metre-long, steel-framed security fence which separates the plaza from the Niagara Parkway.


Phase 2 included the steel-framed customs and animal inspections buildings in the plaza’s centre along with primary and secondary inspection canopies.


Plaza buildings are connected by either grade-level, steel-framed covered walkways or plus-one-level long-span, tubular steel truss pedestrian bridges.


Use of steel facilitated an “aggressive” design and construction schedule, the architects said.


The project team included structural engineers Halsall Associates Ltd., general contractor Aecon Group Inc., CISC steel detailer Base Line Drafting Services Ltd., steel erectors and fabricators M & G Steel Ltd./Tresman Steel Industries Ltd. and steel supplier Vixman Construction Ltd.
 

HALCROW YOLLES

The Ritz-Carlton project, award of excellence winner in the engineering category. One of the key requirements of the steel design was vibration dampening.

In the engineering category, the award of excellence was presented for the 53-storey Ritz-Carlton project in Toronto. The tower rises out of a five-storey podium. The south wall begins to slope outward at the 26th storey “in a striking architectural feature designed to visually complement the sweeping curves of Roy Thomson Hall across the street.”

Structural engineers Halcrow Yolles said steel supported the building’s distinctive architecture while meeting multiple challenges, including providing a column-free space for the 700-square-metre third floor ballroom while transferring the loading to two floors and the podium roof above.

Steel also supported “a dazzling podium of interlocking volumes and cantilevered surfaces.” Halcrow Yolles said steel was the only material “versatile enough for the challenging geometrical configurations.”

HALCROW YOLLES

Wellington Street in downtown Toronto was closed for the hoisting of this storey-deep steel truss during the construction of the Ritz-Carlton project in Toronto.

Steel also was the top choice for the crown of the tower. Halcrow Yolles said the “substantial and constant” wind load was one challenge that had to be addressed. Steel also was sufficiently light and modular to allow quick and safe erection.

The project team included Page + Steele/IBI Group Architects, contractor EllisDon and steel fabricator and detailer C_ore Metal Inc.

DIAMOND AND SCHMITT ARCHITECTS

Evergreen Brick Works, unique site conditions and achieving LEED Platinum necessitated the use of steel. The project won a CISC award of excellence in the green building category.

In the green building category, the award went to the Centre for Green Cities, Evergreen at the Brick Works in Toronto. The five-storey, LEED Platinum facility incorporates a visitor welcome centre, retail and amenity space, administrative offices and workspace for program partners.

Architects Diamond and Schmitt said the unique features of the site, a former river bed, coupled with the LEED Platinum mandate, meant that the new building’s structural system “necessarily” had to revolve around steel. The lightest-weight structure that could be built, integrating mechanical and architectural systems, was a steel-framed building supporting precast concrete floor slabs.

In addition, it was determined that the only foundation system that could be installed in close proximity to the existing heritage buildings on the Evergreen Commons site and also extend through poor quality soils was steel micropiles. In order to be economically feasible, steel micropiles need to support as light a structure as possible.

The team included structural engineers Halsall Associates, contractor Eastern Construction Co. Ltd. and steel detailer and fabricator Norak Steel Construction Ltd.

In the projects constructed outside of Ontario category, the winner was The Bow, Calgary’s first steel skyscraper and its tallest building. The iconic, 58-storey tower features a crescent-shaped, inversely curved form. The project also incorporates the first use of a triangular, diagonal grid (diagrid) system in a curved building design in North America.

Visually, the diagrid pattern is repeated on the building’s exterior every six storeys. Structural engineers Halcrow Yolles said this provides “superior structural efficiency while significantly reducing the overall steel weight as well as the number and size of interior columns.”

The team included architects Foster + Partners in collaboration with Zeidler Partnership Architects, contractor Ledcor Construction Ltd. and steel detailer, erector and fabricator Walters Group in joint venture with Supreme Steel.

In addition, awards of merit were presented to two projects:

•The Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. (Architectural). A “wishbone” steel staircase with simple wood treads links floors 2 to 8 in the nine-storey building. The team included architects Diamond and Schmitt, structural engineers exp Services Inc., contractor Eastern Construction Co. Ltd. and steel detailer, erector and fabricator C_ore Metal.

• Chukuni River bridge replacement in northwestern Ontario. (Engineering). The new 84-metre-long, single-span, steel girder bridge is the longest such structure in the provincial highway system. The team included structural engineers McCormick Rankin Corp., Bruno’s Contracting (Thunder Bay Ltd.) and steel detailer and fabricator Capitol Welding Corp.

The awards will next be presented in 2013.

(Sourced from http://www.dcnonl.com)