Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1010276
AUGUST 2018 | 19 PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY ARMTEC was performing just as effectively as the day it was installed: no leaky windows, no issues." Dryvit's Outsulite System over steel studs is assembled in a factory-controlled environment, cre- ating optimal application conditions; and because the panels can be shipped right to job site for erec- tion, they are perfect for tight sites that don't allow for much equipment and scaffolding (they are simply craned to the wall and joined to the structure). Some of Dryvit's other cladding options include Fedderlite, a panel system for use with retrofit or new construction over solid substrates; it utilizes a unique process for embedding reinforcing channels into the continuous insulation to provide a means for han- dling, as well as mechanical attachment to the wall. Finally, Armtec Precast has repeatedly proven that precast concrete is a viable building envelope material, with its most recent example being the current transformation of the former Alberta Boot Company site in Calgary into the city's newest hotel and apartment complex. The mixed-use project combines a 33-storey, 390-room Residence Inn by Marriott tower and a 305-unit residential tower. Using precast concrete to enclose the joint five- storey parking structure and 10,000-square-foot podium-level conference centre, the wall design by IBI Group features a random, seamless, and completely customized stone pattern from panel-to- panel. Beyond the esthetic profile on the face of the panels is a fully insulated wall panel beneath the sur- face providing all the elements of a wall assembly in one pre-manufactured building component. Although construction is still underway on the towers, the precast components were completed in June. As for the site challenges associated with the project, Jeff Beaudry, project manager at Armtec, says, "The entire north side of the project could not be reached easily due to the active rail lines, and to add to the complexity of the install there was also a can- tilevered slab from floors directly overhead of where the precast panels were to be installed." The panels – each consisting of two reinforced precast concrete wythes with a continuous layer of insulation sandwiched in between – were delivered by trailer to the south side of the tower and lifted onto a custom-made transportation cart on the north side. The cart was positioned directly under the canti- levered slab, where a set of custom hoisting beams between the upper floors was positioned. An external crane was brought in to handle the weight of the panels that could not be hoisted using the site tower crane. A Customized stone-patterned precast wall panels at the Alberta Boot Company jobsite. Building Envelope