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A PR IL 2019 | 19 Structural Steel PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY WALTERS GROUP Structural steel is being used on complex projects across Canada by ROBIN BRUNET A s always, the health of the structural steel sector depends on location. "For example, Vancouver is a con- crete town and more recently timber thanks to initiatives such as the B.C. government's Wood First," says Rob Third, president of George Third & Son (GTS). However, any prominent structural steel special- ist such as Third will quickly add that this "is good competition. And frankly, construction in some sec- tors is so vigorous – for high-rise condos, for example – that even the concrete guys are being spread thin, so developers are re-visiting structural steel. This is especially true of office applications, where develop- ers are looking for a more generous ceiling height." GTS has fabricated and erected many landmark steel and timber structures, including Commercial Street Station, Di Long Lake Pavilion (China), and the Richmond Olympic Oval. One of its more noteworthy recent projects was the Telus Garden office tower in Vancouver, which featured an office bar: essentially a building laid on its side that creates a horizontal office structure. The steel trusses were 60-feet high and all exposed, as well as external of the curtain wall window system; they cantilevered over the traf- fic of both Seymour and Richards streets, something only a steel design could do. Another key feature of Telus Garden is the pavilion entrance canopy, which arches above the sidewalk along West Georgia Street. At 250 feet, this steel plate spine (erected in eight arch pieces) carries the load of 54 curved and shaped glulam timber arches that fan out in either direction. Such complex projects invigorate Third and his team, and he is looking forward in 2019 to "several projects in which steel is a striking exoskeleton of the building. One of these projects is Station Square number 6; another is the luxury condo tower Fifteen Fifteen on Vancouver's Alberni Street [designed by German architect Buro Ole Scheeren] that will feature numerous box-like pods jutting out of the tower at various levels – cantilevers that only structural steel can provide. We're also working on The Butterfly condo, whose design features really nice celestial arches and big atriums between the new structure and the adjacent First Baptist Church – which we're seismically upgraded with structural steel." As for new technology, Third says, "We have a new robotic steel cutting machine that gives us bet- ter throughput and capacity, but while I think such advances are amazing and I embrace them enthu- siastically, at the same time I also lament the fact that in this sector we still have trouble attracting skilled workers, even though the work opportunities abound. The union halls are empty; maybe it's a gen- erational thing." Quebec-based Supermetal considered 2018 to be a year of transition as it managed mill price increases Beam Me Up and tariffs, and key construction team members shifted to focus on client solutions. It was also a year that saw the renowned steel specialist completing a variety of projects, including phase one of the Lower Churchill Project, aka Muskrat Falls, an 824-mega- watt hydro facility (one of Canada's largest) near Goose Bay. For this facility, Supermetal fabricated and erected 4,000 tonnes of steel for a powerhouse enclosing four turbines and two service bays for Astaldi Canada. Supermetal has since secured new projects that will keep the company busy throughout 2019 and beyond. They include 400 West Georgia in Vancouver, a high-rise tower whose unique shape will create many engineering and construction challenges; and MIT Kendall Square, in which Supermetal will work with long-time customer and construction manager Turner Construction Company to create 450 grad and 290 other residences, 888,000 square feet of office space, and 115,000 square feet of retail. Yet another new project for Supermetal is Upbrella, a unique series of high-rise buildings in Montreal that will require the roof to be installed early on and lifted floor by floor to shelter the build- ing as it is being constructed. A lift and a protective wall with a gangway will allow workers to erect the building envelope before each lift, without ever being exposed to adverse weather. The legacy companies that form Supreme Group date back over 100 years, contributing to Supreme becoming the largest privately owned steel con- struction company in Canada, with a huge portfolio of projects including the supply and erection of steel members hidden within the concrete ring that the air supported roof of the original BC Place Stadium was connected to ( Supreme also revisited the facility decades later to perform an equally iconic retrofit). More recently, Supreme engineers refer to The Spheres project in Seattle as "five steps above" the complex work the company usually undertakes. Appearing as three bulbous spheres that seem semi- melted together, this indoor garden with over 40,000 plants from over 30 countries required a specific fabrication process adapted to fit the structure by utilizing laser tracking equipment. Detailers used 3D modelling software to create a model with information linked to the tracking equip- ment, used to check each shop and field connection point. Fabrication included grinding, sanding, and use of Bondo for the AESS finish to create the specific look requested by the client. In total, 24,960 indi- vidual pieces were installed but required only three shims, which reduced the installation time by over one third.

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